Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

How Much Do U.S. University Students Know, And Want To Know, About Sustainability And Green Building? The Findings Of A Survey, And Possible Implications For General Elective Curricula., Jeremy R. Farner

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Using the survey approach, this investigation examined the attitudes and interest of college students at two universities in different geographic locations within the United States. Approximately 24,000 students from all disciplines and majors at Weber State University (WSU) in Utah, and 4,000 at Purdue University in Indiana, were invited to participate in a study to determine current knowledge, familiarity, and interest in topics within the sustainability and Green Building educational arena. The goal of this study was to determine what students already know, would like to know, and how much interest there would be in developing …

Improving Energy Sustainability In Pound Hall, Craig Adams

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This research project deals with improving energy sustainability in Pound Hall dormitory located on the University of Nebraska at Lincoln’s (UNL) city campus. An investigation on the current energy usage of Pound Hall showed that its energy rates worsened between the years of 2009 and 2010. These combined (electricity, steam, and water) energy rates were compared with those of the newly renovated Othmer Hall to emphasize the lack of sustainability in the older dormitory. In order to improve Pound Hall’s energy rates, an energy benefit analysis of implementing a green roof was performed. Having a green roof on this dormitory …

Designing A School Garden Space That Emphasizes Children's Wants And Uses Permaculture Design Methods, Mikhaela Mullins

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A case study was organized at Saratoga Elementary school in Lincoln, Nebraska to obtain data on what children desire in a garden space. To collect this data a school garden space was constructed and an after school garden club was implemented. Students who participated in the after school garden club partook in the study by drawing their ideal garden. Elements that the subjects drew were identified and categorized into ‘highly desired’ and ‘somewhat desired’.

These elements were then incorporated into a proposed garden design plan for Saratoga. The proposal plan uses Permaculture design methods to emphasize sustainability.

Growing The Urban Ecosystem In Detroit, Michigan, Sean Basalyga

Social Sciences

Many views of the future are seen as bleak and devoid of the life where once stood beauty and abundance. However, the Living Cities Design Competition challenges these views and calls for a vision of the future that inspires hope, biodiversity, and a healthy interaction between human and natural systems. We chose to redesign the city of Detroit, Michigan to be a living city by the year 2035. As the earth scientist on an interdisciplinary team, I acted as an ecological consultant. By developing the urban ecosystem of Detroit, a number of social, economical, and environmental problems can be solved. …

An Environmental And Economic Analysis Of The Printing Practices Of Periodicals And Publications By The University Of Rhode Island And Similar Universities Nationwide, Matthew B. Cotton

Senior Honors Projects

An Environmental and Economic Analysis of the Printing Practices of Periodicals and Publications by the University of Rhode Island and Similar Universities Nationwide

Matthew Cotton

Faculty Sponsor: Thomas Husband, Natural Resources Science

Being environmentally-friendly, or “Going Green”, is a relatively new way of thinking that provides both immediate and long term benefits for the environment and the planet while also creating new and exciting business and marketing opportunities. To tap into this movement requires a great deal of commitment, acceptance to change, and selflessness. It means altering one’s perception of the world and their place in it, along with the …

A Prospective Analysis On The Sustainability Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Austin Bailey Porter

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

How Much Do U.S. University Students Know, And Want To Know, About Sustainability And Green Building? The Findings Of A Survey, And Possible Implications For General Elective Curriculum., Jeremy R. Farner

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Using the survey approach, this investigation examined the attitudes and interest of college students at two universities in different geographic locations within the United States. Approximately 24,000 students from all disciplines and majors at Weber State University (WSU) in Utah, and 4,000 at Purdue University in Indiana, were invited to participate in a study to determine current knowledge, familiarity, and interest in topics within the sustainability and Green Building educational arena. The goal of this study was to determine what students already know, would like to know, and how much interest there would be in developing …

Interview With Jim Labbe, Portland Audubon Society, 2011, Jim Labbe

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Jim Labbe by Tony Smith on March 11th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Jane Pellicciotto, Allegro Design, 2011 (Audio), Jane Pellicciotto

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Jane Pellicciotto by Nigel Peltier on March 7th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Making The Human Dimensions Of Sustainable Community Development Visible To Engineers, Juan Lucena, Jen Schneider, Jon A. Leydens

Jen Schneider

Recently, engineers – particularly those working on sustainability-related initiatives – have increasingly turned their efforts towards under-served communities. This paper summarises the findings in Engineering and Sustainable Community Development (Juan Lucena et al., 2010) aimed at a diversity of these efforts which are grouped here under the term ‘engineering to help’. These initiatives often exist under names such as community service, humanitarian engineering, and engineers without borders or activities such as the Institution of Civil Engineers' co-sponsored workshop ‘Helping local communities to help themselves’. Although there has been a blossoming of engineering-to-help-related programmes around the world, there is a …

Interview With Jim Middaugh, Metro, 2011 (Audio), Jim Middaugh

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Jim Middaugh by Teddy Messan on February 25th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Slides: Adapting To Climate Change: Lessons Learnt From The Australian Water Experience, Will Fargher

Conversation with Water Management Reps from Colorado and Australia: "Adapting to Climate Change: Lessons Learned from Australia" (February 14)

Presenter: Will Fargher, National Water Commission, Australian Government

18 slides [4 have titles only and are missing images]

The Essential And Growing Role Of Legal Education In Achieving Sustainability, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article suggests that law schools need to play a leading role in the national and global effort to achieve sustainability, including the effort to address climate change. The article first describes the various drivers for sustainability in law schools. Clients are increasingly demanding that their lawyers 'walk the talk,' as many businesses and corporations already are. The universities that provide an institutional home for most law schools are also adopting sustainability policies and practices that influence their law schools. Within the legal profession, the American Bar Association, as well as many state and local bar associations, have adopted a …

Non-Scalar Economy: An Incentive-Based Approach For Managing Pollution And Attaining Economic Sustainability, Farzad Safaei

Professor Farzad Safaei

In the current economy, the cost of damage to the environment is often external, which is likely to lead to over-exploitation and inadequate provisioning. There are a variety of incentive-based schemes, such as effluent taxes or tradable permits, which attempt to confront the polluting agents with a ‘price’ equal to the marginal external cost of their activity. However, competitive incentives alone are not adequate for effective management of the shared resources. Thus, the current solutions exhibit several drawbacks including susceptibility to international free-riding, sensitivity to accurate estimation of cost of pollution or environmental targets, and inability to take the cumulative …

Strategic Environmental Assessment And Regional Infrastructure Planning: The Case Of York Region, Ontario, Denis Kirchhoff, Daniel D. Mccarthy, Debbe D. Crandall, Graham S. Whitelaw

Denis Kirchhoff

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is seen as an instrument that is essential to realizing sustainability goals that transcend project-level undertakings (e.g. policies, plans and programmes). The purpose of this case-based, collaborative research was to extend practical and theoretical understanding of SEA to the related, but in practice poorly coordinated, processes of project-level environmental assessment (EA), master planning and regional land use planning. Semi-structured key informant interviews and review of policy documents were used as the main sources of qualitative data to explore the key events that have led to an emerging strategic approach to planning and EA in York Region. …

Boldly Sustainable: Hope And Opportunity For Higher Education In The Age Of Climate Change (Book Review), Mary Finley-Brook, Breana Coleman, Kaitlan Lawrence

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Peter Bardaglio and Andrea Putman’s groundbreaking book, Boldly Sustainable, provides a powerful strategy for colleges and universities to achieve renewal and relevance in the 21st century through innovation, academic rigor, and pragmatism. The book combines a refreshingly optimistic message of hope and opportunity with an honest critique of higher education, highlighting the need for transformative change. Case study examples throughout the book show how sustainability initiatives can stimulate excellence in teaching and learning while also encouraging improvements in physical operations. With a broad range of cases from public and private institutions of various sizes and rankings, the authors convincingly …

University Of North Florida Communiting Preferences Survey 2011, Nicolette Chimato, Cheryl Pakidis, Radha Pyati

Campus Sustainability

This report describes the 2011 Commuting Preferences Survey (CPS) of the University of North Florida (UNF). The goal of the survey is to assess the commuting preferences of the UNF community in order to design efficient and sustainable transportation practices. The UNF CPS was written by UNF Environmental Center staff and created using the online survey tool Vovici. Invitations to participate in the survey were sent to all UNF students, faculty, and staff by Institutional Research; the final response rate was 20.52%. The survey opened on March 7, 2011 and closed on April 11, 2011. Three alternative transportation modes were …

Greening Rural Festivals: Ecology, Sustainability And Human-Nature Relations, Christopher R. Gibson, C Wong

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Stability, Sustainability, And Catastrophe: Applying Resilience Thinking To U.S. Agriculture, Gigi M. Berardi, Rebekah Paci-Green, Bryant Hammond

Environmental Studies Faculty and Staff Publications

Resilience is closely related to notions of sustainability, but emphasizes unpredictable, dynamic environments. As conceptualized in engineering, hazards management, and ecology literature, part of resilience is adaptive capacity, the ability to react effectively to change over time in order to maintain a desirable system state. Agricultural policy has had the effect of undermining such adaptive capacity with its emphasis on stabilization. Using a resilience framework and Hurricane Katrina as an analogy, we suggest that the emphasis on stability and efficiency degrades agricultural system resilience in two ways: through reduced diversity in size and type of production, as well …

Plastic Packaging: A Current Perspective On Sustainability, Shristy Bashyal, Bonnie Bachman, Margaret H. Baumann

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Packaging producers, machine manufacturers, and/or resin manufacturers are studied to conduct case study research to assess the issues they are facing with regard to “sustainability”. This industry viewpoint is conducted to generate information regarding environmental pressures facing these companies and the resulting strategies employed to be competitive and sustainable. To collect the necessary information about these selected companies and the overall industry point of view they represent, direct interview techniques are used.

The Myth Of Endless Accumulation: A Feminist Inquiry Into Globalization, Growth, And Social Change, Martha Freymann Miser

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This theoretical dissertation examines the concept of growth and its core assumption—that the continual accumulation of wealth is both socially wise and ecologically sustainable. The study challenges and offers alternatives to the myth of endless accumulation, suggesting new directions for leadership and social change. The central question posed in this inquiry: Can we craft a more ethical form of capitalism? To answer this question, the study examines conventional and critical globalization studies; feminist scholarship on standpoint, political economy, and power; and the Enlightenment notions of progress and modernism, drawing on a number of works, including Aristotle on the three intelligences, …

Earth University (Costa Rica), Mary Finley-Brook, Caroline O'Rourke

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

EARTH is a private nonprofit international university located in the town of Guácimo in the province of Limón, a lowland region in the east of Costa Rica. EARTH derives its acronym from the Spanish title Escuela de Agricultura de la Región Tropical Húmeda (Agricultural School of the Humid Tropical Region). The W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Costa Rican government worked with other national and international agencies to create this unique university in the mid-1980s. The higher education initiative emerged from recognition that unsustainable agricultural practices were damaging and straining soil, water, forest, biological, …

It’S Growing Season For Maine’S Food System, Deborah Felder

Maine Policy Review

In the introduction to this special issue, guest editor Deb Felder lays out the elements of a sustainable food system. She notes that the increased interest in more ecologically sustainable, safe, humane, and economical community-supported food systems has “put Maine in the forefront of the food movement.”

Building A Sustainable Seafood System For Maine, Robin Alden

Maine Policy Review

In this article, Robin Alden notes that Maine could have one of the premier marine food systems in the world. However, that means adequate steward­ship of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and diversifying the fishing industry beyond lobster by creating innovative public policy and a food system that supports community fishing.

Resource, Environment And Energy Considerations For Maine Food Security In 2050 And Beyond, Amanda Beal, John Jemison

Maine Policy Review

This article discusses some of the expensive “externalities” produced by industrial agriculture and fishing. These include impaired watershed quality, soil degradation, pollution, reduction in biodiversity, and impacts on human health. The article also includes a discussion of transgenic crops and how these relate to sustainable agriculture

Creating The Law Of Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article argues that a key to sustainability is redirecting the law of economic development. From a historical perspective, sustainable development is an effort to integrate environmental protection and restoration with development. As a result, it is not possible to fully understand sustainable development unless we understand what development means. While that term is reasonably well understood at the international level, our closest analogue in the United States is not development in general but rather economic development. A great many recently enacted laws that move the United States toward sustainability can be understood as economic development laws. By understanding these …

The "Cash For Clunkers" Program: A Sustainability Evaluation, Marianne Tyrrell, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

This article describes and evaluates the effectiveness of the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009, also known as the “Cash for Clunkers” legislation. Under this law, Congress authorized persons trading in older and less fuel-efficient motor vehicles for newer and more fuel-efficient vehicles to receive a voucher worth up to $4,500 toward the purchase of the new vehicle. The article reviews various studies assessing the effectiveness of this legislation based on economic, social, and environmental criteria. Because these criteria are consistent with the goals of sustainable development, the legislation provides important lessons for future efforts to achieve …

Environmental Laws And Sustainability: An Introduction, John Dernbach, Joel Mintz

John C. Dernbach

In this introduction to the special issue of Sustainability on environmental laws and sustainability, we attempt to synthesize key lessons from the issue’s ten substantive articles. These lessons involve the use of law to achieve integrated decision-making, the use of pre-existing laws to foster sustainability, the centrality of sub-national governments in achieving sustainability, the background law of unsustainable development, the growing importance of climate change, the need to use law to protect and restore ecological integrity, the importance of judicial review and nongovernmental organizations, the need to translate sustainability into specific legal principles, the challenge of creating an appropriate national …

Energy Efficiency And Conservation: New Legal Tools And Opportunities, John Dernbach, Robert Mckinstry, Darin Lowder

John C. Dernbach

Many new and ambitious energy efficiency and conservation laws are being enacted at all levels of government—and with greater financial incentives than provided previously. These innovations are intended to overcome or minimize market barriers such as principal-agent problems, information and transaction costs, high internal discount rates, and up-front capital needs that discourage cost-saving investments. Innovations such as public-private partnerships also require significant legal input and creativity for the client to reap the often remarkably large energy and cost savings. This article reviews a range of these tools, especially financial legal mechanisms, that could help significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption.

University Of Richmond Climate Action Plan, University Of Richmond

Plans

The Climate Action Plan for the University of Richmond establishes the framework for achieving the University’s climate action goals under the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. The University of Richmond’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020 and 100% by 2050. In addition to emissions reduction, the Climate Action Plan articulates goals for embedding sustainability into the curricular and co-curricular aspects of a Richmond education. The plan has been developed under the leadership of the Sustainability Working Group and the University’s Sustainability Coordinator. Climate Action Plan subgroups, with representation of staff, faculty, and students, drafted …