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Department of Earth and Environmental ScienceUndergraduate Research Abstracts2008Martin Bouda In this thesis I address the question: what state of vegetation can be considered natural for any particular place? I redefine the idea of an ecological equilibrium, by considering stationary points which are stable only along certain salient axes in the n-space describing an ecosystem. These axes are defined in terms of the syntaxonomic description developed by the discipline of phytocenology. Such an equilibrium is not like a classical stable stationary point in that it accounts for disturbance being part of the system, and it is an equilibrium that remains “stable” throughout disturbance. This idea is akin to the stable state dynamic mosaic, but it is explicitly described as an element of dynamic n-space. Since even such equilibria are only temporary in the real world, a hypothetical state of vegetation must be defined for this equilibrium to be useful. Potential Natural Vegetation (PNV) is a hypothetical state of vegetation used in environmental management in Central Europe. In this work, I conceptualise PNV as the climax vegetation that would develop in a hypothetical time, whose time-axis is orthogonal to real time, in which no exogenous change and no anthropogenic influence impacts the system. On the basis of this and related ideas, I formulate an alternative hypothetical state of vegetation, which takes into account the abovementioned definition of equilibrium instead of the climax, and which corrects a contradiction inherent to the PNV concept in considering reversible anthropogenic change. Finally, I consider the historical development of nature and find that past irreversible changes must be taken into account in the construction of this natural vegetation, as they do not represent deviations from nature as much as alterations of its course. Back to Undergraduate Research COMPETITION FOR SCARCE WATER RESOURCES AS A DETERMINANT OF INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT Christina Catanese In the contemporary era, attention has largely focused on the great strategic significance of oil for national security in the world. But even more than oil, water, as the most essential of all natural resources to sustain human life, promises to be an extremely crucial and controversial issue in world politics in the twenty-first century. Increasing water scarcity due to increasing populations, industrial water demand, and degrading water quality have led many to assert that the wars of the 21st century will be fought over water. But while water can potentially induce conflict, its vitality as a resource can paradoxically motivate countries to view engagement in water conflict as too risky, and instead to pursue cooperation over shared transboundary resources. Though sub-national violence over water is real concern for the future, water wars between states are not inevitable, and in fact are unlikely in most situations. Potential water conflicts and tensions on both domestic and international levels can be mitigated by various cooperative mechanisms and management practices, difficult to achieve given the complexity of water issues, but not impossible even in the most adversarial situations. The importance of water and its potential salience as a source of conflict is best understood in the context of a particular river basin; the Tigris-Euphrates river basin provides a useful example in demonstrating the historical conflict inherent in water distribution issues, current sources of hydro-political tensions and the potential solutions to the conflicts. Global water issues remain crucial to address even if water wars are unlikely, as scarcity is likely to contribute to general political tensions and instability, as the world approaches unprecedented levels of environmental degradation and political conflicts take new forms in the future. Back to Undergraduate Research
Rachel Cymerman The idea of using economic instruments to solve environmental problems can be viewed as ironic because environmental problems can often be attributed to market failure. Since the inception of environmental regulation, governments have used mainly Command-and-Control mechanisms to achieve a wide range of environmental aims. However, in the last thirty years, the use of economic incentives to control environmental problems has been tested for effectiveness in reducing or at times eliminating the economic pollution externality, or negative impact to society. As the marketing of pollution is a relatively new strategy, it is important to weigh the costs and benefits of such a program judiciously. I examined various case studies involving the marketization of toxic pollutants to determine the success rate of this type of initiative. I went on to interview both government and private market officials to garner varying perspectives on the monetary, ethical, and environmental considerations of such a program. The public demands a regulatory response to pollution, and the most efficient means of reducing pollution is reduction at the source. Pollution has been directly linked to increased costs in healthcare and destruction of property. The ramifications of pollution are expensive for society, so regulators attempt to reduce these costs by the most efficient means possible. It has been found that economic methods are most efficient in reducing pollution costs. Creating marketable pollution permits gives firms financial incentives to reduce pollution. Once these permits are assigned, firms that reduce emissions will increase their profits by selling permits to other firms, enabling the sellers to benefit by reducing their environmental impacts. These programs generally function by gradually reducing the total number of permits issued, and thus reduce the total level of pollution. This type of initiative has succeeded both in reducing SO2 emissions in the United States, and in fostering trade in air-pollution allocations in Santiago, Chile. Several limitations and detrimental consequences are apparent in these programs. Enforcement and accountability have proved difficult, as it is costly to monitor all but the largest firms to determine if they are polluting at a level consistent with the number of permits that they hold. There are also ethical dilemmas associated with implementing this type of program, such as who should decide the total amount of pollution that should be allowed, and by what criteria? Finally, marketization of pollution regulation can have socioeconomic implications. Firms in higher income areas have more money to improve the technology of their factories and thereby reduce pollution in those areas, while firms in low-income areas are forced to buy pollution permits because they cannot afford to reduce pollution. In this scenario, lower income areas become increasingly more polluted, introducing a consideration of fairness to this type of regulation. Though marketizing environmental legislation is more efficient and cost effective than previous Command-and-Control legislation, society as a whole must decide whether these benefits outweigh the undesirable consequences. Back to Undergraduate Research SADDLER'S WOODS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: Use of riparian buffers in urban and suburban areas has increased in the USA as growing populations struggle to restore natural systems within the concrete realities of modern development. Similarly, the effectiveness of citizen advocacy groups has increased as the role of those groups as stakeholders brings them into discussions of issues with government and industry bodies. In this study I examined the citizen advocacy group, Saddler’s Woods Conservation Association (SWCA). I studied the form and function of SWCA, its use of communication media, and its role in the completion of a riparian buffer adjacent to Saddler’s Run, a headspring of Newton Creek within the Newton Creek Watershed in New Jersey, and a tributary of the Delaware River. To complete this study I conducted personal interviews, attended stakeholder meetings, and participated in restoration activities at the site. I reviewed existing published and unpublished studies about Saddler's Run and efforts to protect it, and I conducted an informal survey in Haddon Township. Saddlers Woods Conservation Association (SWCA) has been able to formulate a non-hierarchical organization with increasing volunteer support and financial resources. Its single-issue approach has enabled it to focus interest and funding toward one end: the preservation, conservation, and maintenance of the Woods and Run. By establishing scientific support for the importance of the preservation and conservation of the Woods, SWCA has enlisted local, regional, and state support from other non-governmental agencies and government agencies alike. SWCA has developed a solid communications strategy by utilizing traditional media (newspapers and television) while maintaining an ever-increasing presence on the web. SWCA's use of the Internet and email service is part of a high-tech, cost-effective approach to wrestling with the issue-attention cycle that often brings about boredom and disinterest in the public’s perception of an environmental situation. SWCA must now plan for succession of its directors in order to maintain its current visibility in the public eye and to sustain its funding. SWCA has shown that citizen advocacy groups must educate the public and government officials in the continued monitoring and maintenance needed to grow healthy riparian buffers. Back to Undergraduate Research
Fei Fang The 21st century will witness fast urbanization and industrialization in developing countries that have obtained market freedom in preceding decades. Water, as a fundamental resource in industrial, agricultural, and residential activities, will face provision, distribution, and sanitation challenges on a global basis. If some countries face urban water crises in the future, inadequate or inappropriate water governance, not scarcity of natural or financial resources, will be the likely reason. While much has been written about water issues in developing countries, researchers often focus on the agricultural and industrial segments that consume the most resources. In fact, urban water infrastructure still remains a less important concern in most developing countries, given that only 44% of their population lives in cities and suburban areas, compared to 81% in industrialized countries. However, in lieu of the fast urbanization in large developing countries such as Brazil, China, and India, urban water infrastructure provision and management becomes increasingly challenging. By compiling and examining data from OECD, U.N., World Bank, and environmental authorities in both developing and industrialized countries, I propose an urban water infrastructure-management framework that integrates innovative forces from five sources: 1) public legislation, 2) public financing, 3) privatization,4) technology, and 5) community participation. By embracing such an innovation framework, developing countries are more likely to balance conflicts among different stakeholders and provide a sustainable water infrastructure that will support future urbanization. Back to Undergraduate Research FORECASTING THE FUTURE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE NON-FICTION: THE EFFECTS OF POPULAR CULTURE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS Victoria Frings When it comes to predicting the future of our physical world, what is fact and what is fiction? In his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore warns of future death and destruction should current trends in Global Warming continue. The science fiction film The Day After Tomorrow does much the same thing. The former is categorized as a documentary – a non-fictional presentation of the ‘hard scientific facts’ – and is meant to arm the general population with the information they need to fight for change. The latter is part of the science-fiction genre, often considered a pariah in the literary world, and is considered entertaining rather than educational. These two representations of popular culture both deal heavily with speculations about the future, but the information from one is perceived as more legitimate than the information from the other. Science fiction is a genre of popular fiction beloved by some, abhorred by others, and unfamiliar to many. Though it is frequently relegated to the sphere of the fantastical, science fiction is actually more deeply rooted in fact than many people give it credit for. For a genre that deals almost exclusively with the future, its authors actually root the substance of their predictions deeply in the facts of the present and the past. Similarly, environmental nonfiction allows authors to use available science to analyze the past and present known world in order to forecast its future and offer warnings against potential apocalyptic outcomes. Environmental nonfiction offers weight to its predictions and speculations, which are, however, essentially fictional. I am asserting that this type of book, which lacks any satisfactory formal genre designation, should be classified as ‘enviro-forecasting nonfiction’, and that it functions today as a mainstream form of science fiction. Through a closer analysis of four specific enviro-forecasting nonfiction works – Collapse, An Inconvenient Truth, The World Without Us, and Endgame: The Problem of Civilization I examine the fictional qualities of these books, the reasons for their current popularity, and the implications of their current nonfiction status in the hierarchy of popular culture. If these books actually raise environmental awareness and activism, and influence government policy, because they are perceived and accepted as nonfiction, is their problematic genre designation actually problematic. Back to Undergraduate Research VOLUNTARY ADOPTION OF RESPONSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS BY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES Catherine Griffin Most scientists who study environmental systems agree that climate change and environmental degradation rank among the greatest threats to human welfare, yet no global regulatory framework or aligned local strategies exist to address them. We can begin to see significant shifts in the private sector, however, which suggest that companies, once the foremost perpetrators of natural and human resource exploitation, are voluntarily beginning to use their innovative capacity, financial might, and global scope to champion the industrial application of environmental stewardship, and to pioneer the development of a sustainable global economy. Yet the corporate track record undermines the credibility of these companies. In this paper I explore the authenticity and developmental state of the apparent shift through the following research objectives: 1) I define the meaning of "sustainability" in practice; My work shows that the meaning of sustainability in practice remains ambiguous, and that most businesses are only at a rudimentary stage in which dealing with the environment is costly, cumbersome, and primarily focused on compliance. Furthermore, I have observed a negative correlation between signing the GC and positive IVR ratings, such that, on average, companies which have not signed the GC more successfully integrate GC principles into their policies and practices than do those who have signed. Voluntary compliance mechanisms have been met to varying degrees in the United States. A consensus has emerged that emphasizes the need for environmental business regulations at a national level. However a significant number of leading business have been rated very well by the Innovest system, and common variables exist among them. Those companies which form cross-sector or business-to-business partnerships--once entirely antithetical to corporate competition--nearly always score well. Businesses and NGOs are using each other as resources and partners, rather than enemies, to redefine industry norms and leverage ingenuity. These partnerships support systematized resource efficiency, transparency, and investment strategies informed with environmental risk assessments and lending criteria. We can therefore see business practices evolving to handle the physical, regulatory, and competitive challenges at hand. This evolution is founded on collaboration, and is united by the GC principles. Together, these businesses and NGOs are building a third tier of government and a new dimension of competitive advantage characterized by ethical behavior. This tier transcends the reach of political regulation in scope, and contributes to practical development at the local level. Given the scientific expertise and regional social commitments of many NGOs, their partnership with companies lends credence to the sustained commitment of the private sector to authentic environmental change across economic trends. The voluntary basis of this commitment, however, limits the scope and authenticity of these developments. Binding regulations and significant consumer buy-in will be necessary for the currently marginal and superficial commitment to become widely established. Back to Undergraduate Research
Tarah Kirnan China faces serious environmental problems in the 21st century. Although there are existing environmental policies in China, they are ineffective due to weak environmental government institutions and the governments’ inability to enforce these policies. In order to overcome the many obstructions to the implementation of environmental laws, the Chinese government must elevate the importance of environmental issues within the administration, and put those issues on the government’s agenda. Once the Chinese government is committed to resolving the country’s environmental concerns, and seriously addresses the current problems associated with enforcement of environmental regulations, they will be able to implement environmental policies more effectively, while promoting environmental education and clean practices. Back to Undergraduate Research SINAC: A STRATEGY FOR CONSERVATION AREAS IN COSTA RICA Danielle Knight Among the developing nations of Latin America, Costa Rica observes the most progressive environmental policies and has established a unique national park system. In 1996, the country reconfigured its many protected areas, consolidating them into a framework called SINAC (The National Conservation Areas System). New goals under SINAC include decentralizing management away from the central administration in San José, and eliciting participation from regional communities. With continuous agricultural expansion and a tourism industry which rose by 10% in just 2007 and which is projected to increase still further, Costa Rica must ensure that the current environmental regulations will continue to shield protected areas against the effects of future economic development (World Tourism Organization 2008). In this study, I have analyzed management and economic trends under SINAC to assess the system's efficacy in protecting secured areas and enforcing environmental laws. I found that administrative control is more decentralized and administrative activities are improved because the regional office of each Conservation Area operates self-sufficiently, expediting projects and communication. Local communities have participated in projects initiated by local environmental councils as part of SINAC, though this does not apply to all the Conservation Areas. While SINAC states that each Conservation Area should seek to become economically self-sufficient, the central government in San José drains the national parks of their revenue without returning percentages essential to manage the country's protected areas. Thus, the new goals defined under SINAC have not ensured the future financial well-being of protected areas. Back to Undergraduate Research THE POLITICS OF SUSTAINABILITY: SELLING THE WORLD A BETTER ENVIRONMENT Cameron Rolfe McQuale “Energy independence” is a popular concept that requires more than just idealistic notions in order to gain popular support and thereby achieve success. While the introduction of policies and measures to move away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources may appear to be a simple process, powerful interests have a major stake in the current energy-production system. Consequently, due to this often understated human element, the introduction of a new energy infrastructure is more complicated than the already elaborate task of engineering an electric grid to be renewable/carbon free. Those who desire a sustainably fueled future need to realize that environmental policy is a product that must be sold. Although there are many cases where small communities or individual buildings have gone “off the grid” using solar, wind, or another non-fossil fuel source for their energy needs, to date there is no case of a mainstream community in the USA achieving independence using renewables. The Community Choice Aggregation in California and Gotland Island of Sweden are two cases where communities have begun to make significant strides toward implementing substitution of renewable energy for conventional sources. However, the goal of independence is conceptual; there are no explicit plans to achieve a complete switch away from conventional energy in a set time period. One example of a community that came very close to implementing a plan for complete energy independence is the island of Vashon, off the coast of Seattle, Washington, in Puget Sound. This island community of 10,000 residents had an opportunity to implement a switch to renewable energy. The plan was to create a Public Utility District that would invest savings from household energy conservation projects in a renewable energy infrastructure on the island. According to the plan, the island would be able to generate the net amount of energy needed by Vashon’s population and then buy or sell the difference to/from the grid within ten years. However, fears of tax increases and a lack of clarity as to how the PUD would function led Vashon residents to vote 2 to 1 against the measure in November 2006. To assess how this situation evolved I traveled to Vashon (a self-described liberal, environmentally conscientious community) so as to gain access to local information explaining why the PUD initiative had failed. Reconstructing the chain of events that led to the failure of the PUD involved first reading through all of the news archives, and then conducting interviews with the key players involved. I learned that, although the energy independence concept received support initially from the majority of the community and government officials, the proponents of the PUD failed to educate the general public adequately. Supporters of the PUD failed in their efforts to present and describe the overall project and did not anticipate the negative campaigning that would invariably arise against creating a public utility. Vashon was a real community – not a test tube. There was financial risk involved and the residents would have been held responsible for the outcome of the PUD plan, whatever plan they would have passed. The PUD was a good idea that was just not framed well, and the campaign to create it was not planned or marketed properly to the general public. The ideas introduced by the plan, which included on-island wind-power production, energy-conservation services, and creation of a public utility, were major changes that were brought to the public forum much too abruptly. Although this plan failed, energy independence is a possibility for Vashon as well as for any community, as long as those involved take the proper steps to bring strong proposals to the public and sell them. Back to Undergraduate Research FILTHADELPHIA: THE CAUSES AND HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF INADEQUATE WASTE DISPOSAL IN PHILADELPHIA Jeannette P. Schroeder In April 2007, Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans outraged Philadelphians by calling their city dirtier than his post-Katrina city: "Let me tell you something. You ought to go to Philly and you will appreciate how clean New Orleans is…. We still have some work to do but we definitely beat them by a long shot." Though insulting, many Philadelphians echo this sentiment by calling their home city ‘Filthadelphia.’ Before the advent of the germ theory, decomposing refuse and street waste, or more specifically the odor or ‘miasma’ that resulted from the waste, was believed to be the main cause of disease. Today, litter and trash on city streets is often written off as more of a nuisance than a real threat to public health. However, according to a majority of participants from the Health of Philadelphia Photo-documentation Project (HOPPP), a study led by Dr. Carolyn C. Cannuscio that asks Philadelphia residents if their city is a healthy place to live, trash and litter remain a major public health concern. In this project I have sought to understand why trash is perceived as a major health threat. I studied the pervasiveness of the street sanitation problem, the variation in generation of street waste across the socioeconomic gradient, the possible causes of inadequate waste management, and the potential health effects that arise from living in an ‘unclean’ or ‘filthy’ environment. By using photographs and interview data from HOPPP, I have shown that the problem of trash is an important health concern for Philadelphia residents. Furthermore, analysis of photographic data generated on a random sample of city blocks demonstrates that the prevalence of trash is highly correlated with the prevalence of neighborhood poverty. This positive correlation shows that communities that are already disadvantaged may be further burdened by a disproportionate presence of street waste, trash and litter. The causes and health consequences of trash as perceived by the participants of HOPPP were also analyzed for this project. Residents cited the following causes of inadequate waste management: lack of respect among community residents, moral decay, the high availability of vacant and unattended lots, and a lack of proper municipal services. Health consequences included concerns for physical safety, mental health, and general wellbeing. Trash and ‘filth’, which have historically been associated with poverty, immorality, and aversion, further burden already disadvantaged neighborhoods. My project shows that street sanitation remains today an important health issue, especially in impoverished urban neighborhoods. Back to Undergraduate Research
Craig Wenger I investigated the balance of economic gains versus the environmental and social losses for the proposed El Diquis dam project in the southern zone of Costa Rica. Large dams constructed around the world been shown to present many environmental problems and have been highly scrutinized. Planners of the El Diquis project have minimized social and environmental impacts of a dam that will generate electricity at the rate for which El Diquis is designed. The electric company of Costa Rica, ICE, undertook to set the standard for large dam planning in Central America. At 179 meters tall, the El Diquis dam will become Central America’s largest. Economically, the plan seems viable. The cost of the dam is estimated to be $979 million, a viable investment, given the growing need for electricity, the costs of recent blackouts, and the projected $400 million cost of future blackouts. The loss of 21 kilometers of downstream river, as well as the creation of a 6,002-hectare reservoir, create substantial onsite ecological, geologic, and hydrologic problems. The proposed dam will inundate 8 towns and 6,523 hectares of land, including 657 hectares of territory that now belongs to indigenous tribes. Compensation of the non-indigenous landowners has been controversial, while the indigenous tribes maintain that their land is not for sale at any price. Although thoughtful planning and responsive modifications over many years have produced a project that has addressed many of the problems associated with large dams, local opposition to the construction of El Diquis remains strong. Back to Undergraduate Research Jerry Zhang A weather derivative is a financial instrument whose value is derived from My research has shown that weather events in the past affected local economies in many ways before the emergence of the market in weather derivatives. The market in weather derivatives evolved to cushion these impacts and to distribute the risks of destructive weather events over a larger part of the global economy. I will assess the extent to which the contemporary market in weather derivatives has enabled investors to manage risk from extreme weather events. |
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Department of Earth and Environmental Science University of Pennsylvania, 254-b Hayden Hall, 240 South 33rd Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316 |
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