<p> Waste disposal has always been one of the challenging aspects of human life mostly in populated areas. In every urban region, various factors can impact both amount and composition of the generated waste, and these factors might depend on a series of parameters. Therefore, developing a predictive model for waste generation has always been challenging. We believe that one main problem that city planners and policymakers face is a lack of an accurate yet easy-to-use predictive model for the waste production of a given municipality. It would be vital for them, especially during business downturns, to access a reliable predictive model that can be employed in planning resources and allocating budget. However, most developed models are complicated and extensive. The objective of this research is to study the trend of solid waste generation in Philadelphia with respect to business cycle indicators, population growth, current policies and environmental awareness, and to develop a satisfactory predictive model for waste generation. </p><p> Three predictive models were developed using time series analysis, stationary and nonstationary multiple linear regressions. The nonstationary OLS model was just used for comparison purposes and does not have any modeling value. Among the other two developed predictive models, the multiple linear regression model with stationary variables yielded the most accurate predictions for both total and municipal solid waste generation of Philadelphia. Despite its unsatisfactory statistics (R-square, p-value, and F-value), stationary OLS model could predict Philadelphia&rsquo;s waste generation with a low level of approximately 9% error. Although time series modeling demonstrated a less successful prediction comparing to the stationary OLS model (25% error for total solid waste, and 10.7% error for municipal waste predictions), it would be a more reliable method based on its model statistics. The common variable used in all three developed models which made our modeling different from the Streets Department&rsquo;s estimations was unemployment rate. Including an economic factor such as unemployment rate in modeling the waste generation could be helpful especially during economic downturns, in which economic factors can dominate the effects of population growth on waste generation. </p><p> A prediction of waste generation may not only help waste management sector in landfill and waste-to-energy facilities planning but it also provides the basis for a good estimation of its future environmental impacts. In future, we are hoping to predict related environmental trends such as greenhouse gas emissions using our predictive model.</p>

Sandy beaches are unique environments which offer billions of dollars’ worth of ecosystem services, including among others: storm protection, sediment storage and transport, habitat space for beach-dwelling and nesting species, nutrient cycling, and tourism. Management of coastal systems tends to be anthropocentric – adjusting the coastal environment to suit the needs of human development and use. However, management actions can have important consequences for the natural functioning of these systems, particularly on the species who live or breed on sandy beaches. It is crucial that future management actions balance the economic, aesthetic, and recreational value of these ecosystems to coastal communities and their ecosystem services. Sea turtles offer an excellent case study in this balance. Changes to nesting or incubation conditions from anthropogenic alterations (e.g., artificial lighting, beach renourishment, marine debris) can result in the abandonment of nesting, suffocation or drowning of the embryos, increased feminization or hyperthermia, or death from exhaustion, desiccation, or predation. Understanding how the nesting and incubation environment may change under different beach- or species management actions is critical to ensuring their appropriate use in sea turtle population recovery. This dissertation investigated how two management actions affect the nesting and reproductive output of sea turtles: 1) sea turtle nest relocation (Chapter 2) including the assessment of inundation risk (Chapters 3 and 4) and 2) Leave No Trace ordinances (Chapter 5). Nest relocation is a common approach used to reduce losses due to inundation, erosion, poaching, and other terrestrial threats; however, there are concerns that this strategy may alter the incubating environment of the developing embryos, and thus affect proper hatchling development and fitness. In Chapter 2, I examined potential differences in inundation exposure, sand temperature, moisture content, and grain size between paired original-relocated nest sites as well as hatchling production between in situ and relocated nests. The incubating environment between original-relocated pairs were comparable, though relocation offered a minimal net benefit as it decreased emergence success and did not reduce the likelihood of inundation. More nests were being moved than are necessary, indicating additional information is needed to identify high-risk nesting sites. To better identify nests at-risk of wave exposure which are suitable for relocation, a wave runup model was developed using historical beach elevation, offshore wave, and tide data (Chapter 3). Wave runup modeling proved effective at identifying washed over nesting sites (83%). The best choice of beach slope used in the assessment varied depending on whether the user was interested in presence of wash-over or the frequency of wave wash-over at a site. An updated digital elevation model (DEM) was not necessary as the time-averaged DEM performed better than, or comparable to, those using the most recent LiDAR survey. A more complete understanding of sea turtle embryonic tolerance to inundation would improve high-risk site identification. HOBO U20L-04 water level loggers were tested in situ to evaluate their potential to provide this inundation tolerance information versus existing PVC-based equipment at paired experimental sites and when deployed adjacent to nests (Chapter 4). The HOBO loggers could provide high resolution observations of inundation frequency, duration, and severity which can inform nest productivity; however, their high cost will limit the scale of their deployment. In a complementary role, the low-cost PVC-based design can be mass-produced and deployed across a wide spatial scale but at a reduced data resolution – the balance between the use of these equipment will depend on the resources of the monitoring agency and the specific research question. Sea turtle population recovery is predicated not just on our ability to reduce losses of developing embryos, but on the continued availability of suitable nesting habitat itself. Leave No Trace ordinances are increasingly being used to combat the issue of marine debris including abandoned beach equipment (Chapter 5). Nesting success and obstructed crawl frequency were compared before and after the implementation of the ordinance at control and treatment beach segments in a BACIPS design. The ordinances had mixed success – though obstructed crawls did decline after the ordinance in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, the presence of an obstruction did not influence a turtle’s decision to nest and nesting success declined after the ordinance across the study area due to natural variation. More time and/or increased compliance may be necessary for improvements in nesting success to materialize. These management actions appeared to have only small effects on sea turtle hatchling production and population growth rates in the northern Gulf of Mexico. But as charismatic megafauna and valuable ecosystem service providers, their continued conservation based on the provision of suitable environmental conditions serves as an important example of the need to balance anthropocentric coastal zone management with ecosystem function. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2019. / March 29, 2019. / endangered species conservation, inundation, Leave No Trace, marine debris, nest relocation, sea turtle / Includes bibliographical references. / Mariana M. P. B. Fuentes, Professor Directing Dissertation; Thomas E. (Tom) Miller, University Representative; Jeffrey P. Chanton, Committee Member; Scott Burgess, Committee Member; Dean Grubbs, Committee Member.

There is concern that canyoning, which has grown in popularity in recent years, may not be environmentally sustainable within the Blue Mountains National Park. Sociomanagerial research was undertaken, using an initial focus group discussion and subsequent surveys. Canyoners were found to participate in their sport predominantly in small groups in relatively few canyons, were generally experienced, did not feel crowded by other people encountered, and displayed little evidence of displacement behaviour from popular locations. No specific biophysical impacts were perceived as serious. Canyoners generally supported management action to control visitation to canyons if overuse could be demonstrated, with education and/or restrictive actions as preferred management strategies. Biophysical research was undertaken to test a potential rapid assessment bioindicator for measuring and monitoring potential visitor impacts. Macroinvertebrate data were analysed and no significant difference in macroinvertebrate assemblage composition or water quality was found between high and low visitation streams. Macroinvertebrate fauna were found to be highly resilient to trampling. Current visitation levels within the canyons appeared to be within ecologiocally sustainable levels. The implications of the findings are discussed for visitor impact management policymaking. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Extraction, production, utilization and disposal of material resources have been undertaken continuously for much of human histories. Unavoidably, all of these activities have disturbed our environment, and subsequently have been harmful to humans and ecosystems in this and future generations. Due to time lag associated with both environment impact and the effects of measures taken to reduce this impact, existing approaches (i.e. monitoring and reacting) do not give sufficiently rapid feedback for effective environmental management. With regard to the complexity and concern related to environment-health chain effects, there is currently no environmental tool or approach that can provide comprehensive information and indicators covering all major environment and health themes, to enable decision makers to make informed judgements about regional policies and plans, relating to the sustainable use and disposal of material resources. Consequently, there is a need for developing a new approach by taking account of a multidisciplinary concept used in this thesis. Substance Flow Analysis (SFA) has been mainly applied in order to provide input information for Health Risk Assessment (HRA). The SFA approach provides the quantity of the substance that is transported (flows) and stored in the system (stock), and of which sub-system, flow, and process is the greatest concern. The HRA approach provides estimates of human health risk associated with site, activity and facility. An environmental fate and transport model is another key knowledge area incorporated into the HRA process. An integrating method of SFA, environmental fate and transport, and HRA is developed and illustrated by a case study of cadmium in Australia. This thesis shows that this new integration of existing stand-alone methods can provide holistic information and useful indicators covering all significant economic activities, environment, flows, and health risk assessment for selected substances. This enables better decision making on the use and disposal of substances at a range of levels in the economy, from corporations to regions and nations.

This research explores whether Environmental Management Accounting can be applied to assist an Australian cogeneration company in improving both its financial performance as well as its environmental performance. Cogeneration or 'combined heat and power', in this particular case, involves the simultaneous production of heat and electricity using a single fuel, that is, natural gas. The heat generated is then used to produce steam to meet the customers' requirements as well as boost the production of electricity. Therefore, cogeneration provides greater efficiencies compared to traditional electricity generation methods because it utilizes heat that would otherwise be wasted. In addition, greenhouse gases emissions can be reduced substantially. The approach taken in this research is to assess whether an improvement in the energy efficiency of the cogeneration plant can lead to a reduction in greenhouse gases emissions. An improvement in energy efficiency means that either: • less gas is consumed, thus leading to cost savings; or • more electricity is generated for the same quantity of gas consumed, which leads to an increase in income and consequently profit. Therefore, an improvement in energy efficiency means an improvement in the financial performance. In addition, a reduction in the quantity of gas consumed or generating as much electricity as possible from a given quantity of gas can lead to a reduction in greenhouse gases emissions which means an improvement in the company's environmental performance. A case study method, which involves an Australian cogeneration company, is adopted because this would provide valuable in-depth practical insight into the operations and mechanisms of a company that is involved in combined heat and power generation. A review of the literature and the evidence collected indicated that a cogeneration plant's efficiency can be improved at least back to near the plant's designed efficiency. And, further improvements may be achieved by utilizing the latest technology although this involves capital investment. It is also established that an improvement in plant efficiency can reduce greenhouse gases emissions. This research then concludes that Environmental Management Accounting can help the case study company improve its financial and environmental performances. An Environmental Management Accounting system can provide the physical information that is not available in the existing management accounting system. Physical information such as the physical quantities of gas consumed, electricity and steam produced, and greenhouse gases emitted, can help the company in decision-making relating to improving plant efficiency as well as reducing greenhouse gases emissions.

This research was set out to understand the underlying causes for the lack of knowledgeregarding the environmental field in Hong Kong and South China and get a basic view of thedifficulties Environmental Management Systems (EMS) encounter when being put intopractice. Interviews and factory visits were used to collect data needed to build this report.The interviews had the aim to understand how companies in Hong Kong and China managetheir environmental related work. An EMS is a set of processes and practices that enable anorganization to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency, buthow was the use of such systems affecting the environmental work in reality.A total of eight persons from six different companies were interviewed. With the aim tounderstand how EMS were implemented and used from their point of view. The maindifficulty for the companies asked was the task of understanding and documenting theprocesses of ones own company. With differences such as language, culture, etc present thereis a need for a mutual ground. In the environmental field EMS are used as the commonground. Western companies are, because of the use of EMS, able to attain a picture of theenvironmental work and processes of their industrial partners in the China and Hong Kong.The result of this research shows that there still are many obstacles, for environmentalmanagement systems used by SME, left to address. There are cultural as well asinfrastructural problems that need to be addressed. It is therefore important to alter EMS inco ordinance with the Chinese social environment that it will be used in.

<p>This research was set out to understand the underlying causes for the lack of knowledgeregarding the environmental field in Hong Kong and South China and get a basic view of thedifficulties Environmental Management Systems (EMS) encounter when being put intopractice. Interviews and factory visits were used to collect data needed to build this report.The interviews had the aim to understand how companies in Hong Kong and China managetheir environmental related work. An EMS is a set of processes and practices that enable anorganization to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency, buthow was the use of such systems affecting the environmental work in reality.A total of eight persons from six different companies were interviewed. With the aim tounderstand how EMS were implemented and used from their point of view. The maindifficulty for the companies asked was the task of understanding and documenting theprocesses of ones own company. With differences such as language, culture, etc present thereis a need for a mutual ground. In the environmental field EMS are used as the commonground. Western companies are, because of the use of EMS, able to attain a picture of theenvironmental work and processes of their industrial partners in the China and Hong Kong.The result of this research shows that there still are many obstacles, for environmentalmanagement systems used by SME, left to address. There are cultural as well asinfrastructural problems that need to be addressed. It is therefore important to alter EMS inco ordinance with the Chinese social environment that it will be used in.</p>

<p> This dissertation suggests that the greening of the corporate governance mechanisms&mdash;meaning efforts to tie executive compensation to environmental targets (incentive) and to enhance board responsibility over environmental performance (monitoring)&mdash;induces managers to comply with pressures to lower toxic emissions in the U.S. high polluting industries.</p><p> Although emphasis has been placed on the benefits of greater use of both incentive and monitoring mechanisms to improve corporate environmental performance, there is little consideration given to the potential costs associated with their implementation. I argue that mechanisms of incentive in the form of environmental compensation may serve as substitute of mechanisms of monitoring by the environmental board committee.</p><p> However, contrary to my expectations, results show that incentive and monitoring are positively associated. Nonetheless, I suggest that these mechanisms are most effective in improving environmental performance when adopted under specific circumstances of environmental risk. I found that the existence of environmental compensation is positively associated with firms' environmental risk. Furthermore, there is weak evidence showing that environmental board committees are more prevalent in firms that face conditions of moderate environmental risk.</p><p> This dissertation employs a panel regression model with random-effects. The sample consists of the S&amp;P500 firms that are required to report toxic emissions to the Toxic Release Inventory, years 2006 to 2011. Data was collected from proxy statements, annual reports, and various other databases.</p>

<p> Simulated oil spills were created in <i>S. alterniflora</i> sediment-water microcosms to determine the effects of applied crude oil on <i> S. alterniflora</i> during two 90-day studies. In the first experiment, oil dosage was varied at 0-250 mg crude oil/g wet soil to determine the lethal dosage level. In the second experiment, oil type, dosage, and soil type were varied to determine the effects of oil under multiple scales of resolution. A light, medium, and heavy crude oil at dosages ranging from 0-150 mg crude oil/g wet soil were used in addition to an oiled and non-oiled soil. Following the completion of the 90-day experiment, several key findings were observed: (1) The lethal dosage limit was reached at 250 mg crude oil/g wet soil during the first experiment but not the second, by design; (2) At initial dosages of 10 and 50 mg crude oil/g wet soil, the oiled soil (acclimated for 4 months) was more influential in decreasing cumulative biomass growth rates compared to oil applied at the oil-water interface; (3) At the heaviest dosages applied as a simulated oil slick, concentrations of 150 mg crude oil/g wet soil, evapotranspiration rates were negatively affected by the oil (significant at p=0.05 in a one-tailed t-test); (4) Light, heavy, and then medium crude oil showed the lowest biomass growths, in that order, indicating that light crude oil was the most toxic in these microcosm experiments with <i> S. alterniflora;</i> (5) The 10 mg oil/g wet soil out-performed the 0 mg oil/g wet soil in transpiration and biomass growth.</p>

Wetlands have long been recognised as enhancing the quality of inflowing waters, particularly regarding the plant macronutrients nitrogen and phosphorus. Any research into non-limiting solutes has largely been of a 'black box' nature, with no insights into mechanism of retention presented. Research in the Okavango Delta, Botswana and preliminary work in the uMkhuze Wetland System, South Africa has identified retention of large amounts of non-limiting solutes within these wetland systems. Chemical sedimentation in the Okavango accounts for 360 000 tonnes per year, while a rough mass balance in the uMkhuze Wetland System suggested retention on a scale of 16 000 tonnes per year. The Yengweni and Totweni Drainage Lines are north-south oriented systems that, together with the uMkhuze River floodplain, were selected to investigate chemical retention in the uMkhuze Wetland System. These drainage lines were once tributaries of the uMkhuze River that have been dammed at their southern ends by alluvial deposition on the uMkhuze River floodplain to form tributary valley lakes. Considering seasonal variations in groundwater levels in combination with conductivity, sites of solute concentration were revealed in the groundwater. The use of chloride as a concentration tracer has indicated that solutes are progressively depleted in the groundwater under the influence of a concentration mechanism, with silicate minerals and calcite attaining saturation. Groundwater chemistry and hydrological factors have highlighted the southern Yengweni and floodplain regions as active sites of solute concentration. In these areas, groundwater elevations are variable, which is mirrored by variation in groundwater chemistry. Although elevated solute concentrations do occur elsewhere, the seasonal variation is less marked. The search for solute sinks in the uMkhuze Wetland System also considered the sediment of the wetland system as a possible sink. Elevated solute concentrations in the groundwater could be linked to the accumulation of minerals in the soil, suggesting precipitation of minerals by saturation under a concentration process. In tho southern Yengweni and floodplain regions, concentrated groundwater bodies were linked to high concentrations of minerals in the soil, including neoformed montmorillonite, and calcite deposits. Other sites of chemical concentration in the groundwater in the northern Yengweni and Totweni Drainage Lines have produced little modification of the reworked marine sands on which the wetland is founded. Processes in the southern Yengweni and floodplain regions are clearly more efficient in removing solutes from the wetland surface water and immobilising them in the soil of the drainage line than is happening in the Totweni and northern Yengweni regions. Transpiration by vegetation seems to be the major factor driving chemical sedimentation in this subtropical system, and as such vegetation in this wetland system is not the passive factor it is often assumed to be. The vegetation of the wetland is itself initiating and perpetuating the retention of chemicals in the system. Hierarchical patch dynamics in combination with the theory of thresholds, derived from geomorphology, is useful for placing chemical sedimentation in wetlands into a spatiotemporal framework that increases understanding of the process, and allows identification of sites where chemical sedimentation is likely to occur in wetlands. There are a number of thresholds that define chemical sedimentation driven by evapotranspiration in the uMkhuze Wetland System, which may be considered at increasing spatiotemporal scales from the microscale of seconds within a limited section of the groundwater, to the macroscale thousands of years at the landscape scale of the wetland system. With increasing scale, the effects of the transformations at each hierarchical level have corresponding increasing influence on the structure and function of the wetland system. The initial threshold is surpassed once concentration products of evapotranspiration are retained to some degree within the wetland system, due to increased residence times of groundwater on modification of the hydrological regime from discharge to recharge. Increased residence times allow the products of seasonal concentration to persist beyond the timescale of seasons. The second threshold is the saturation and precipitation of mineral phases that accumulate within the soil profile. With sufficient accumulation of chemical sediments, the physical properties of the sediment are modified, which reduces the velocity of water flow in the soil (Threshold 3). This has implications for hydrological flows between the surface water and groundwater systems. Threshold 4 is attained once the sediment is modified to such a degree that the chemical sediments act as an aquitard, such that surface water and groundwater may be effectively separated. Extrinsic factors influencing the process of chemical sedimentation, such as the atmospheric water demand, chemical composition and volume of inflowing waters, as well as the nature and density of vegetation, may indicate the potential of a system to sequester chemical sediments but cannot predict their occurrence completely, except maybe at the extremes of semi-arid and arid systems. It is the local and intrinsic factors of hydrological flows, their chemical composition and nature of clastic sediments that will govern residence times of water in the system, and therefore the location, nature and extent of chemical sedimentation. Furthermore, chemical sedimentation driven by evapotranspiration is not limited by sediment type as are adsorption and complexation reactions, which are dependent on the availability of active sites, nor by chemical composition of inflowing waters as this factor simply dictates the suite of minerals produced. Therefore, chemical sedimentation in wetlands is expected in a wide range of settings from temperate to arid, with varied substrates and hydrological regimes. The large-scale removal and retention of solutes within wetland soil has system-wide implications for wetland structure and functioning. The ramifications of chemical evolution of the groundwater and soil extend from influencing the distribution of plants and animals, to geomorphological implications of accumulating chemical sediments, as well as off-site effects including water quality enhancement of water available to downstream systems and users. An understanding of the process of chemical sedimentation in wetlands may inform good management to protect this vital function of wetlands, particularly with increasing development and industrialisation pressures in many areas. Extensive chemical sedimentation has been discovered in both the Okavango Delta, Botswana by Ellery, McCarthy and colleagues and through this study in the uMkhuze Wetland System, with the proposed driving force being transpiration. Vegetation induced chemical sedimentation is a hitherto unknown, although seemingly important component, of chemical processing in tropical and subtropical wetlands, and under certain conditions, even in temperate wetlands. This insight into chemical transformations in wetland systems adds a further dimension to the accepted model of chemical cycling. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.