Canada and the United States are faced with many cross-border environmental issues and therefore must negotiate potential solutions with one another. Complicating such negotiations is the fact that both countries are federal systems which require negotiations and decision-making interactions amongst various levels of government domestically which, in turn, influence and are influenced by bilateral relations. Therefore, this study focuses on governmental relations both within each country (intergovernmental relations) and between the two countries (bilateral/international relations). Using the Ontario-Michigan Municipal Solid Waste dispute (1996-2006) as a case study, this thesis advances an organizational framework for the examination of the role of formal and informal interactions in shaping bilateral environmental policy. Through application of this framework, it is revealed that both formal and informal federal level relations in the U.S. prevented sub-national and local level authorities from effectively developing a solution to the dispute. Future studies which apply the organizational framework used in this thesis to other cross-border environmental issues are needed in order to determine whether such conclusions hold true in the case of all cross border disputes.

Faced with a looming electricity crisis, the provincial government is calling for Ontarians to adopt a “culture of conservation”, and is planning to equip all residential dwellings with new metering infrastructure known as “smart meters” by 2010. In addition to providing residents with the ability to “shift” their electricity consumption from the most expensive “on-peak” times of the day, the data from these meters can be used to provide residents with detailed information, or feedback, regarding their consumption patterns. This research assessed whether electricity-use feedback affected households’ electricity consumption behaviour, whether feedback effected pro-conservation attitude changes, and what types of feedback were most effective in these regards. An initial mail survey was sent to 1,257 smart metered Milton, Ontario homes to obtain information regarding residents’ appliances and their consumption behaviour and attitudes. Of the 298 respondents, most of whom were living in homes that were less than seven years old, 106 were chosen to receive weekly household-specific feedback in various formats from July to October 2006. A follow-up survey was conducted to assess any changes in attitude as a result of the feedback, and weather-adjusted 2005 and 2006 consumption data were used to quantitatively discern any resulting consumption changes. While overall results revealed that the feedback made little difference in household consumption levels compared to the 2005 baseline period, there were some indications that it was effective in encouraging shifting, and had the opposite effect on overall conservation (i.e. it encouraged increased consumption). Also, while the comparison of “pre-” and “postfeedback” surveys revealed the feedback had no measured effect on encouraging proconservation attitudes, overall, customer acceptance of the feedback was high.

Ecosystem services and goods are non-market values that are increasingly being accounted through contingent valuation methods and more specifically by studying people’s willingness-to-pay for them. Large ecosystem restoration is an area that benefits from economic valuation because placing a monetary value proves that restoration efforts are justified to preserve resources for future generations, wanted by a community, and even a profitable investment of public funds. However, what determines that a community supports and understands restoration efforts is linked to their social, economic, cultural, and geographic reality. In this study I adopted the idea of willingness-to-pay to examine people’s attitudes towards river flow restoration efforts in the Colorado River Delta. The Colorado River Delta is a resilient ecosystem that has endured severe river flow depravation for more than 70 years now; yet, this ecosystem still provides many environmental services and goods and its restoration is well justified for that. This research mainly reveals that the Colorado River Delta is still an undervalued ecosystem despite its resiliency and the many regional benefits it still provides. This study has two research questions. Fist, I determined what factors influence Mexicali’s willingness-to-pay. Second, I compared willingness-to-pay attitudes between the cities of Mexicali and San Luis Rio Colorado (SLRC); two neighboring Mexican cities of different size and economic structure but of similar social, ecologic and geographical conditions. The instrument to collect field data was a survey that posed a realistic river flow restoration scenario at a range of prices from 10 to 90 pesos in order to test people’s willingness-to-pay; a total of 564 surveys were delivered face to face in Mexicali. Subsequently, I compared Mexicali survey results with a previous SLRC survey. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric analysis, and qualitative analysis were the main instruments to arrive to my conclusions. Within Mexicali, I found that parenthood and the perception of received benefits from the river were the most significant factors that determined people’s willingness-to-pay. Migration was also a salient socio-demographic factor that probably has an influence on people’s attitudes towards river flow restoration. When making comparisons between cities I found that SLRC is more willing to pay than Mexicali, which confirmed my hypothesis that environmental awareness influences willingness-to-pay in each city given that SLRC is a true river city while Mexicali is 64 km away from the river. Pricing was also influential in both cities. People’s exposure to the river varied from one city to the other –SLRC people have more interactions with the river than people from Mexicali do, thus matching again the difference in willingness-to-pay attitudes of each city. Although income, education, frequency of visits, and awareness of dry river conditions were expected to have a clear connection to willingness-to-pay within Mexicali, I found only a marginal statistical relationship that was very close to be significant. This was due to the fact that I analyzed the dependency of those variables for all prices and not at a specific price range where the actual average willingness-to-pay resides. Finding that average and then analyzing the relationships again should clarify this issue. What motivates people to pay was related to resource conservation and the recognition of the river’s ecological importance. What motivates people to not pay relates to negative attitudes such as incredulity and lack of trust in Mexican institutions. My main recommendations are to raise local environmental awareness of river issues with environmental education, to address local negative attitudes towards river restoration, and to explore the analysis of these data with other approaches such as socio-psychological models.

Water quality and nonpoint source (NPS) pollution are important issues in many areas of the world, including the Greater Toronto Area where urban development is changing formerly rural watersheds into impervious surfaces. Impervious surfaces (i.e. roads, sidewalks, parking lots, strip malls, building rooftops, etc.) made out of impenetrable materials directly impact hydrological attributes of a watershed. Therefore, understanding the degree and spatial distribution of impervious surfaces in a watershed is an important component of overall watershed management. According to Environment Canada’s estimates, road salts, also considered nonpoint source pollutants, represent the largest chemical loading to Canadian surface waters. The main objective of this study is to verify the often assumed correlation between impervious surfaces and chlorides that result from the application of road salts, focusing on a case study in the selected six major watersheds within the Greater Toronto Area. In this study, Landsat-5 TM images from 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005 were used in mapping urban impervious surface changes within the study area. Pixel-based unsupervised classification technique was utilized in estimation of percentage impervious surface coverage for each watershed. Chloride concentrations collected at Water Quality Monitoring Stations within the watersheds were then mapped against impervious surface estimates and their spatiotemporal distribution was assessed. In a GIS environment, remotely sensed impervious surface maps and chloride maps were overlaid for the investigation of their potential correlation. The main findings of this research demonstrate an average of 12.9% increase in impervious surface areas as well as a three-fold increase in chloride concentrations between 1990 and 2005. Water quality monitoring stations exhibiting the highest amounts of chloride concentrations correspond with the most impervious parts of the watersheds. The results also show a correlation (coefficient of determination of 0.82) between impervious surfaces and chloride concentrations. The findings demonstrate that the increase in imperviousness do generate higher chloride concentrations. Correspondingly, the higher levels of chloride can potentially degrade quality of surface waters in the region. Through an innovative integrated remote sensing approach, the study was successful in identifying areas most vulnerable to surface water quality degradation by road salts.

Interest in the presence of environmental contaminants in the Canadian arctic and sub-arctic arises in part over concerns that Aboriginal people residing in these regions continue to rely on subsistence harvesting. Organochlorines (OCs) are a type of persistent organic pollutant (POP) that have a unique chlorine-carbon bond; this bond facilitates their unprecedented environmental longevity, lipophilicity and hydrophobic nature. OCs have been found in both the biotic and non-biotic compartments of northern ecosystems. This study examined patterns of differences with respect to body burden of organochlorines (lipid-adjusted) between the residents of the Ontario First Nations of Fort Albany (the site of MCRL Site 050), Kashechewan (no radar site), and Peawanuck (the site of MCRL 500) to assess whether geo-proximity to abandoned radar sites influenced organochlorine body burden with respect to the people of Fort Albany and Peawanuck. Correspondence analysis (CA-1) revealed people from Fort Albany had relatively higher pesticide concentrations (β-HCH and DDT, but not Mirex) and relatively lower CB (156 and 170) body burdens when compared to participants from Kashechewan and Peawanuck. CA- 2 revealed Peawanuck residents had relatively higher concentrations of CB180, DDE and hexachlorobenzene and relatively lower levels of DDT and mirex compared to participants from Kashechewan and Fort Albany. Results are suggestive but not conclusive that MCRL Site 500 may have influenced body burdens of Peawanuck residents.

The installation of solar photovoltaic (solar PV) technology on elementary and secondary schools has been undertaken around the world in an attempt to tie together positive environmental action, innovative environmental education, and potential economic gains. In Ontario, the advent of the Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program and the increased focus on environmental education by the Ontario Ministry of Education has resulted in preliminary interest from some Ontario school boards in installing solar PV technology on schools. However, simply installing the technology on school roof-tops does not guarantee that the potential benefits of a school-based solar PV project will be realized. Drawing from the literatures describing the social acceptance of innovation and technology, the social acceptance of renewable energy innovation and technology, and the social acceptance of educational innovation and technology in schools, this thesis attempts to identify non-technical factors that may impede school-based solar PV project development, and ultimately, attempts to identify factors that help maximize potential benefits. The research was conducted in two distinct phases, with the results from Phase 1 informing the focus and design of Phase 2. Phase 1 consisted of nine key-informant interviews with individuals directly involved in school-based solar PV projects in Canada and the United States, and Phase 2 consisted of a case study in the Halton District School Board (HDSB) and the Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) (Ontario, Canada). Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in Phase 2 through 30 stakeholder interviews and 50 stakeholder surveys. Respondents in the HDSB and HCDSB generally have a positive perception of solar PV technology, but are concerned to some extent about the cost and economic viability of implementing this kind of project. Five funding models for school-based solar PV projects were evaluated by respondents to determine the effect of project funding models on overall project social acceptance. The results show that the project funding model does affect social acceptance, with 78.1% of respondents reporting that at least one of the five models would cause their support for the project to either increase or decrease. Respondents indicated a strong preference for the government/utility model, while the corporate funding model was shown to be the most controversial. This thesis recommends that a broad-based, inclusive, stakeholder-oriented approach to project development could improve trust and communication between project stakeholders, and thus improve the social acceptance for any of the five funding models. Additionally, with any funding model, teacher and administrative support and social acceptance is particularly important to help maximize the educational component of the project.

Traditional food knowledge (TFK) refers to a cultural tradition of sharing food, recipes and cooking skills and techniques and passing down that collective wisdom through generations. The value of this knowledge is hidden in a global food system offering an abundance of commercial convenience foods. This study defines TFK and explores its value to assert space for its recovery and renewal. Using Trevor Hancock’s research on healthy communities and models, such as the Mandala of Health (1985), traditional food knowledge will be analyzed for its potential to contribute to individual and community ecosystem health. The role of traditional food knowledge is examined with respect to promoting biocultural diversity and improving the capacity for food production among citizens. Food diversity is an important component of human nutrition and can be an indicator for a bioculturally diverse region. Studies on biocultural diversity recognize the close connection between cultural and biological diversity. Only recently have the losses in cultural heritage, such as traditional food knowledge garnered academic and policy attention. Traditional food knowledge can be one means of asserting cultural identity and can be a way to connect people to the natural world. Transmitting this knowledge is one important means of fostering sustainable livelihoods, ecosystem health and enhanced individual and community capacity. Traditional food knowledge can provide an individual with the capacity to prepare meals that are nutritious, safe and culturally relevant. This skill can support adaptation to altered food environments, such as is the case for immigrants and indigenous populations. The food system itself has rapidly changed with global industrialization, urbanization and cultural homogenization; and traditional food knowledge is no exception. The distinct expressions of taste and place are facing a continuity gap when traditional food knowledge is not passed forward, but rather sidelined as an abstract, historical concept. This study takes a qualitative case study approach exploring the concept of traditional food knowledge. The existing literature is compared to the lived experience of immigrants and their families in the Canadian suburban context, specifically in Mississauga, Ontario. This study explores the relevance and value of traditional food knowledge to Indonesian-Chinese New Canadians, their families and the wider community. Despite the colossal challenges posed by a global food industry, there are personal and community benefits to gaining or relearning traditional food knowledge. The community capacity increases with a greater number of skilled practitioners and educated consumers. Informal sharing of the cultural life skills engages people from various walks of life as they learn about, and from, each other. Governance that enables and sustains this type of community exchange will require changes to ensure equitable support for the opportunity for such informal learning and capacity building to occur among all citizens.

Abstract Managing protected areas requires consideration of broad scale social, ecological and in some cases, political factors. Additionally, the impacts of hyperabundant species is often a concern in protected areas as increases in breeding and foraging pressures can alter habitats dramatically. The influences of hyberabundant nesting colonies of waterbird species are well documented. Many studies indicate that waterbird species can influence canopy species as especially on the shoreline of islands, where the most abundant nesting pressures occur. On Lake Erie, Phalacrocorax auritus populations have increased dramatically from a low of 87 nests in 1979 to 16,050 nests in 2007. However, most studies have failed to address the influences that mature tree death may have on the ground layer ecosystem, including increased litter depth, herbaceous species composition and abundance and seed bank composition and viability. Consequently this study sought to quantify the nesting colonies’ influence on coarse woody litter and how nest densities and litter depth influence the herbaceous layer, the seed bank composition and viability across the extent of three Lake Erie islands. My study was designed to quantify the nesting colonies’ influence on these variables across the extent of each island, rather than just the perimeters where the majority of cormorant nests and visible damage exists. I collected my data in the summer of 2008 on East Sister Island, Middle Island and West Sister Island, using plotless-point quarter method, herbaceous layer surveys (incorporating data collected by Parks Canada and Ontario Parks in 2004 and 2007), cormorant nest counts, soil seed bank cores, and litter depth measurements. To test whether there are specific impacts of cormorant nests relegated to the island perimeters versus the rest of the island, an available subset of data on East Sister Island and Middle Island were used. These were expressed as vegetation ‘damage indices’ as classified by Parks Canada and Ontario Parks staff. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to determine if the different damage indices reveal any influence of cormorant nest density in smaller localized areas as opposed to testing the entirety of the islands. Kruskal-Wallis tests indicated that, island-wide, none of the herbaceous species abundance, diversity (total, native or exotic), seed bank composition, or seed viability has been affected significantly (P > 0.05) by either cormorant nest numbers or large-diameter litter-fall from cormorant nesting activities. However, damage indices (calculated using aerial photography) did indicate that, P .auritus nest density does influence litter depth, herbaceous species abundance and diversity in the island perimeter. Nest density has not significantly affected seed bank abundance or seed viability. My conclusion is that cormorants do not uniformly affect the islands as there is localized damage to the herbaceous layer, restricted primarily to the perimeters of the islands. However, there remains a risk to the interior herbaceous layer of the island if the effects of nesting pressures at the edges advance inward from this perimeter.

In 2005, the Recycling Council of Ontario published a report that identified the construction industry as one sector that did not manage its waste in an environmentally appropriate manner. In this report, Let’s Climb Another Molehill, 15 case studies were executed to understand why this industry was neither handling nor disposing its waste properly in Southern Ontario. A set of generic recommendations was generated to help improve the management of this industry’s waste. Unfortunately the scope of the report was too broad to support conclusions about the management of specific types of problematic construction waste. The aim of this thesis is to narrow what was done in Let’s Climb Another Molehill to focus only on gypsum wallboard. The purpose of this research is to determine what options are the most desirable and feasible to deal sustainably with gypsum wallboard waste in Southern Ontario, both now and in the future. All recommendations offered are case specific. A number of methods have been utilized to obtain the information needed to formulate appropriate recommendations to deal with wallboard. Information learned through the literature, witnessed through the observation sessions, and acquired through the interviews led to two unique option categories: 1) alternative materials and 2) change in practices. To evaluate these options, a set of criteria was created based on the concepts of sustainability and integrated waste management (IWM). This sustainable IWM criteria set allowed for consistent evaluation of the options. To improve the recommendations, the sustainable IWM criteria were refined to better deal with each of the two categories of options. When the sustainable IWM criteria for evaluating alternative materials were applied, gypsum wallboard was found still to be the best interior wall material to use today. However, applying the sustainable IWM criteria for evaluating change in practices showed that the problem with using this product lies with its management and, therefore, the remaining recommendations focus on improving the creation, use and disposal of wallboard. Many of these recommendations can easily be adopted to help eliminate inappropriate wallboard management practices. This research was able to identify areas where problems arose and to offer feasible options to improve environmentally inappropriate behaviors associated with wallboard management. Although numerous recommendations are offered, the three fundamental recommendations that will lead to the biggest change include: 1) greater number of educational programs devoted to the construction industry; 2) stricter regulations and better enforcement; and 3) a dramatic increase in landfill tipping fees. If these three recommendations were implemented, it is believed that they will play a positive role in managing gypsum wallboard waste in a more sustainable manner.

This study develops an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for understanding institutional change and resistance to change towards sustainability. The research rests on two leading theories of change within the social and ecological sciences: the New Institutionalism and Panarchy theory. A theoretical framework integrating insights from the two theories is applied in an analysis of the development of the Town of Caledon’s mineral resources policies. The research suggests that institutional change and inertia are interconnected and interdependent and, depending on the case and context, they may interact with each other across spatial and temporal scales. There may be overlap in the emergence of pressures for institutional inertia and change across temporal and spatial scales, and both institutional change and inertia may be present when opportunities arise for renegotiation of the “rules of the game”. Results show that the two theories share many concepts (e.g., thresholds or tipping points, fast and slow moving variables, etc.) to aid in understanding the dynamics of institutional and ecological realms. Moreover, the integrated theoretical framework can help to explain the dynamics of institutional systems in a way that overcomes the limitations in Panarchy and the New Institutionalism theories by themselves. Key concepts within Panarchy theory (e.g., regime shifts, etc.) complement the New Institutionalism’s ability to capture important contextual factors influencing institutional change and inertia, and help to overcome the current limitation in its capacity to explain the nonlinear, multi-scalar dynamics of institutional systems. In turn, key concepts within the New Institutionalism (e.g., uncertainty, etc.) complement and enrich Panarchy theory’s capacity to illustrate the social and economic dimensions of institutional dynamics. Results of the case analysis demonstrate that a range of overlapping, historic and immediate, local-to-provincial factors (e.g., socioeconomic costs, uncertainty, path dependent effects, etc.) and institutional elements (e.g., interests and values, power and resources, issues of fit, etc.) drove institutional change and inertia in the development of Caledon’s mineral resources policies. The slow moving institutional variables in Caledon’s case (core Town, industry and provincial government values and interests) were perhaps the greatest determinants of institutional change and resistance to change towards sustainability. The story of the development of Caledon’s mineral resources policies, then, is about the resilience and resistance efforts of a small Town committed to maintaining core community values under the constraints of a resilient and resistant, ecologically destructive and inequitable institutional system.