Category Archives: Environmental Policy & Planning

Environmental Consequences of Fishing Practices

Environmental Consequences of Fishing Practices
For centuries, humans have relied on the ocean for subsistence by harvesting its abundance of fish.  In recent decades, new technologies have allowed humans to remove fish from the ocean on a massive scale to supply Earth’s burgeoning population. Unfortunately, there are many negative environmental consequences to these practices and overfishing has been identified as…
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Introduction to Environmental Finance

Introduction to Environmental Finance
What is Environmental Finance? Environmental finance is a field that on the surface is unfamiliar to most practitioners.  However, most are familiar with some of the tools or products of environmental finance such as emissions trading and land trusts for conservation.   This field essentially takes a financial look and methodology to address environmental issues.  The…
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The Environmental Impact of Roads

The Environmental Impact of Roads
Roads are increasingly common in today’s world as human development expands and people increasingly rely on cars for transportation on a daily basis. The United States contains over 4 million miles of roadways and an estimated 20% of land in the country is impacted by the presence of roads.1 This large network of roads has…
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The Concrete Jungle: Study of Urban Landscapes as Environmental Science

The Concrete Jungle: Study of Urban Landscapes as Environmental Science
Many universities in North America and in Europe now offer studies of the urban environment BAs/BScs MAs/MScs in such subjects as Urban Studies and Urban Archaeology. The growing importance of our towns and cities means they are now a subject of major academic study – an area that is only expected to grow as we…
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Birds as Environmental Indicators

Birds as Environmental Indicators
Humans have invented a variety of instruments to monitor the health of ecosystems.  For example, to examine water quality in a wetland, an environmental scientist may use a sensor to measure dissolved oxygen in the water or perform chemical assays in the lab to examine heavy metals in the soil. However, in some cases we…
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Indoor Air Quality and Environmental Health

Indoor Air Quality and Environmental Health
It is estimated that people spend up to 90% of their time indoors. (1)  As such, indoor air quality can have an immense impact on health and general quality of life.  Both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provide guidance based on research for indoor air quality but it…
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With Palynology We Can See the Tiniest Details

With Palynology We Can See the Tiniest Details
Palynology – the study of micro organic material such as spores, pollen, dinoflagellates and microfossils (1) - is a method employed by a range of disciplines all concerned with the environment. It is not an undergraduate degree subject due to its limited scope, and though there are some Master’s programmes in most countries, those wishing…
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Cold Hard Facts about Nuclear Power

Cold Hard Facts about Nuclear Power
Most countries in the western world have harnessed the power of nuclear technology for decades. Since the development of the atomic bomb, the human race has found other uses for this technology that still divides people – it provides power for our homes and has medicinal uses. Nuclear physics is a well-established division of the…
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Birds & Ecosystem Services

Birds & Ecosystem Services
The Value of Birds Birds are present throughout almost every habitat across the globe.  No matter where you go, there is always evidence of birds even if you don’t see the animals themselves.  Things like holes pecked in tree bark by woodpeckers or the remnants of a nest are indicative of the presence of birds. …
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Ambient Air Quality and Environmental Health

Ambient Air Quality and Environmental Health
Over 6,000 people became sick and 20 individuals lost their life in 1948 when a cloud of air pollution blanketed the town of Donora, Pennsylvania for 5 days. (1) Donora only had a total population of 14,000!  That translates to over 40% of the citizens suffered in some way.  The industrial revolution brought progress and…
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