The Grass Is Always Greener: Keystone XL, Transboundary Harms, and Guidelines for Cooperative Environmental-Impact Assessment

While general understanding of environmental harms has become more geographically sophisticated, environmental-impact assessment (EIA) law has lagged behind. Although nations now understand complex environmental processes and relationships that extend well beyond their borders, EIA law remains trapped in a domestic structure that is ill-prepared to assess harms outside its jurisdiction. By looking at the U.S. environmental assessment of the Keystone XL pipeline, this Note recasts the problem of transboundary environmental harms in EIA using recent, remarkable events. Key assumptions made in the Keystone XL assessment illustrate that the typical domestic structure of EIA law does not allow adequate assessment of transboundary harms and, thus, undermines the entire purpose of the EJA process. After identifying this problem, this Note suggests a number of guidelines for developing binding, cooperative environmental-assessment agreements between states that would bridge that gap and bring transboundary harms into domestic ELA law

Elementary STEM: integrated lessons

Master's Project (M.Ed.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016The primary purpose of this project was to increase elementary students’ STEM literacy and interest in STEM-related fields. The secondary purpose of this project was to improve educator self-efficacy to teach STEM in their own classroom. To do this, I created, tested, and revised a series of STEM lessons and kits appropriate for Intermediate elementary students. Participants in this project included: eight through twelve year-old elementary students, three “Highly Qualified” certified elementary teachers from the FNSBSD, and other teacher collaborators from California and New Jersey. This project also enlisted the help of several expert students and faculty from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The method used was a collaborative, cyclical, anecdotal, and highly reflective Action Research approach. The final product is a series of five STEM lessons and kits that can be used in an Intermediate elementary classroom. The lessons and kits have been tested and revised many times, and are ready for dissemination for other educators to use. I recommend that teachers become familiar with the content included in the lessons and kits, particularly because national standards have recently changed, and these lessons offer methods for teaching this new material. The accompanying kits are also intended to be user-friendly. It is my hope that these kits find their way into many classrooms, and bring students and teachers knowledge and joy. I will continue working on integrated STEM lessons and kits in the future

Effects of Radiation on Neurite Morphology and Cytoskeleton Structure

Long-term manned space exploration to the moon, Mars, and other areas beyond Earth\u27s protective magnetic field poses possible acute and late central nervous systems (CNS) risks. Of particular concern for astronauts is exposure to high atomic number, high energy particles known as HZE particles, a component of galactic cosmic radiation (GCR). Although NASA has radiation safety requirements, the possible effects of GCR and HZE particles on the central nervous systems of astronauts remains unknown. Understanding the risks and effects of galactic cosmic radiation and HZE particles on the central nervous system will allow for safer space exploration. Additionally, and perhaps more relevant, are the effects on the CNS of patients undergoing radiation therapy for cancer treatment or for medical procedures like CT scans. Radiation (using x-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles), along with chemotherapy, is widely used to treat primary and metastatic brain tumors. Despite advances in radiation therapy, significant negative impacts on the CNS still remain. In this study, our aim was to understand the effects of x-ray radiation on neurite morphology and cytoskeleton structure using human SH-SYSY cells, a neuroblastoma cell line commonly used for neurite outgrowth studies. In addition, we monitored cytotoxicity via a metabolic proliferation assay in neuronal cells lines, as well as a primary glial cell line and glial cell line derived from a glioma. Immunocytochemistry results suggests that neurite length of differentiated SHSYSY cells decreases with increases in radiation dose and exposure time. Phase contrast microscopy results are contradictory; suggesting no significant differences between treated and control groups with regards to dose and time. Phase contrast microscopy does reveal neurite complexity decreases in differentiated SH-SYSY cells with select dosages and times of exposure. Cytotoxicity results are wildly disparate between cells lines. Data indicate radiation dose and time post-treatment affect metabolic activity. However, metabolic activity between cell lines and within a cell line can either increase or decrease in response to dose and time

Implementing the 5As Framework for Obesity Management

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) pilot project strives to improve management of obesity by increasing provider knowledge and utilization of the 5As Framework which is an effective evidence-based intervention and a behavioral counseling tool. Pre-data including BMI and waist circumference were collected over one month. An educational in-service on the 5As was held for one primary care nurse practitioner. Post data was gathered over five months. Provider knowledge on the 5As was increased however, there was not an increase in identifying obesity. The 5As was used about 10% of time with obese patients. This pilot project can be expanded to more providers in the practice and needs data over one year to determine long term outcomes such a decrease in BMI

Environmental Justice as Civil Rights

Environmental justice litigation using the Equal Protection Clause and civil rights statutes has largely failed. This article explains that failure as a result of a general shift by federal courts to limit the scope of civil rights law rather than an improper characterization of environmental justice as a civil rights issue. This explanation is important to both encourage and caution environmental justice advocates and scholars as they approach claims under Title VIII. I suggest that Title VIII\u27s ability to bridge property and dignity may still present a powerful and much-needed tool for bringing equality to environmental law, but that, based on recent treatment of civil rights in the courts, those concepts should be bridged outside of the civil rights context first. Thus, I recommend that environmental justice scholars and advocates shift their focus from litigating civil rights claims to building the conceptual and doctrinal connection between environmental quality, property, and personal dignity through the administrative process, tort suits, and other means before making the leap to Title VIII

A new passive surface water flux meter for simultaneous measurement of contaminant and water fluxes in streams and rivers

A passive surface water flux meter (PSFM) for measurement of contaminant concentration/flux in rivers and streams is described and tested. The novel PSFM design was developed for portability and ease of adaptability for a variety of contaminant classes. Although previous designs have been evaluated under constant flow conditions, the PSFM has never been used for measurement of pesticides or hormones and this is the first time that it has been tested under transient flow. Discharge through the PSFM is assessed by measuring miscible displacement of alcohol tracers from granular activated carbon (GAC). The tracer retardation factors (R) measured by miscible displacement were typically smaller (within 25%) than those estimated from batch studies with sorption of the larger tracers being more nonlinear. For calibration of the ratio of PSFM water flux to external flow velocity, water flux through the PSFM was measured in a flume under constant flow conditions at a range of velocities representative of those in streams and rivers. The relationship between PSFM water flux and external flow velocity in a flume was non-linear as predicted by Bernoulli\u27s equation for velocity potential flow. However, in samples deployed in a natural stream, the relationship between PSFM water flux and external flow was weak with less flow passing through the PSFM under field conditions than predicted by measurements in a flume. The sorption and degradation of the contaminants of interest on surfactant modified zeolite (SMZ), the sorbent used for contaminant capture, were evaluated in laboratory and field experiments. PSFM performance was evaluated in a stream network at the Purdue Animal Sciences Research and Education Center (ASREC). Sampling was focused on the steroid hormones and pesticides, which are present at trace concentrations in the stream network as a result of agricultural activity. Estimates of contaminant flow weighted average concentration obtained using the PSFM were compared to concentrations measured in water samples taken at regular intervals using automated sampling equipment. Concentrations of both estrogens and pesticides measured using the PSFM were generally higher than those measured in water samples. This difference was attributed primarily to the high temporal variability of contaminant concentration and flow in the stream resulting in large temporal inequality of transport which is not adequately sampled using discreet methods. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that non-equilibrium tracer desorption during periods of high stream velocity may cause underestimation of PSFM specific discharge and consequent overestimation of contaminant flux in some cases. The PSFM was used to measure contaminant concentration at five strategically located sampling stations over the course of two months. The flow weighted average concentrations of steroid estrogens measured using the PSFM were generally in the low ng/Lrange while that of the pesticides was in the ug/L range. Estrogen concentrations were not correlated with manure application and were more highly variable relative to the pesticides. The highest estrogen concentrations were measured nearest the source zone following a prolonged period of high discharge. Conversely, the concentration of the pesticides atrazine, desethyl-atrazine, and metolachlor were not correlated with distance from the source zone, but increased dramatically with the first precipitation event following pesticide application suggesting disparate transport mechanisms for the compound classes

How Circuits Can Fix Their Splits

The desire to avoid conflicts between the regional circuits of the federal courts of appeals, commonly known as “circuit splits,” has had an immense influence on the structure and operation of the federal appellate courts for roughly a century. Over time, the Supreme Court has been assigned responsibility for resolving these conflicts. Yet as overall federal caseloads have increased, this reliance on the Supreme Court has imposed serious and well-recognized burdens on the operation of the federal courts. For decades scholars have debated bold proposals to address these problems, such as creating a new national court dedicated to resolving conflicts or fundamentally restructuring the Supreme Court. This Article offers a straight-forward yet transformational proposal overlooked in these debates: let the courts of appeals resolve their conflicts on their own. This Article argues that the federal courts of appeals should resolve circuit splits on their own, rather than rely on the Supreme Court, and lays out how they could do so. A judge-made doctrine known as the “law of the circuit” prohibits a later panel of a court of appeals from revisiting an earlier panel’s decision, even when the earlier decision has resulted in a conflict with another circuit. Because practically all work in the courts of appeals is done by three-judge panels, the law of the circuit doctrine has the effect of locking conflicts in place—the first circuit to address an issue cannot confront the reasons that motivated a latter circuit to come to a different conclusion. Instead, every circuit gets one chance to weigh in and, as a practical matter, no circuit can ever resolve the conflict. I therefore propose relaxing the law of the circuit doctrine when a circuit’s prior decision has resulted in a conflict with another circuit. This proposal is narrowly tailored, identifying tools already in use in some courts of appeals that would allow them to relax the doctrine and revisit a prior decision, but only where that prior decision has subsequently resulted in a conflict with another circuit. This creates the opportunity to address the conflict without Supreme Court intervention while maintaining the existing doctrine’s benefits in the vast majority of the court of appeals’ cases. Yet the proposal is also transformational, fundamentally changing the relationship between the federal appellate courts by empowering the courts of appeals to engage in dialogue with each other and reducing reliance on the Supreme Court. This Article therefore offers a realistic proposal for achieving important structural and institutional improvements in the federal courts at a lower cost and with less disruption than existing proposals

Environmental Justice as Civil Rights

Environmental justice litigation using the Equal Protection Clause and civil rights statutes has largely failed. This article explains that failure as a result of a general shift by federal courts to limit the scope of civil rights law rather than an improper characterization of environmental justice as a civil rights issue. This explanation is important to both encourage and caution environmental justice advocates and scholars as they approach claims under Title VIII. I suggest that Title VIII\u27s ability to bridge property and dignity may still present a powerful and much-needed tool for bringing equality to environmental law, but that, based on recent treatment of civil rights in the courts, those concepts should be bridged outside of the civil rights context first. Thus, I recommend that environmental justice scholars and advocates shift their focus from litigating civil rights claims to building the conceptual and doctrinal connection between environmental quality, property, and personal dignity through the administrative process, tort suits, and other means before making the leap to Title VIII