Vehicles and Emissions

Emissions have continued to change over the years, but how have they affected the environment and the health of individuals? To acquire more information on this topic this culminating experience project investigated the specific emission gasses that are released, the difference between emissions during the manufacturing and emissions during the life-time of the car, and the effects that emissions create on the environment and the population. The four research questions were: 1. What are the health effects on people who are exposed to emission gases? 2. What are the environmental effects when emission gases are released? 3. What part of the automobile manufacturing process releases the most and least amount of emission gasses? 4. How will emission gasses affect the environment and people in the future? Data was collected from the Environmental Protection Agency, Center of Disease Control, Department of Energy and Case Studies that analyzed the different emission gases in the automobile industry and how they affect the environment and people’s health. The findings were: Q1. that the environment and people’s health are still affected but, the automobile industry has begun to limit their emission release by recycling, treating, disposing, and recovering the energy that is used, Q2. that emissions affect the environment by hydrocarbons reacting with oxides of nitrogen which create ozone and develop into smog, greenhouse gasses and acid rain which can cause climate change and raise Earth’s temperatures. Q3. that painting an automobile releases the most amount of Carbon Dioxide emissions compared to other manufacturing portions, Q4. that current health effects are caused by exposure to emission gasses during the manufacture and operation of an automobile, but new regulations have implemented limits on the emissions that are released. The conclusion is that emission gases have decreased over time due to the implementation of regulations on the automobile industry, but they still cause harm to the environment and people’s health. Additionally, people can turn to Electric Vehicles (EVs) or methane fuel to decrease their carbon footprint. It is recommended that further research be conducted to determine if emission gasses have continued to decrease and if additional laws and regulations have been passed to limit emission gas release during the operating and manufacturing process of automobiles

The Power of Paradox: The Need for Alternative Remedies in Virginia Minority Shareholder Oppression Cases

This comment addresses where Virginia\u27s current scheme falls short and why equitable remedies are needed in Virginia minority shareholder oppression cases. Part I looks at how the MBCA attempted to solve the problem of minority shareholder oppression. Part II explores how other jurisdictions have interpreted or added to the MBCA so as to provide additional remedies in minority shareholder oppression cases. Finally, Part III advocates for adoption of a new dissolution statute in Virginia that includes equitable remedies for such cases

Healthy learning environments

A good school environment is paramount to the performance and health of the pupils and teachers. However, the quality of school buildings in the Netherlands is in general not so good, with 80% of them not complying with good practices for the indoor environment, while having high energy costs. When tackling these issues, School Boards around the country have two options: building new facilities, or upgrading the existing ones. Although they usually prefer new buildings, municipalities around the country are promoting the alternative. This presents opportunities for the sustainable renovation of potentially thousands of buildings, to make them not only energy efficient, but with a high quality indoor environment as well; Energy efficient schools with good indoor environment are at the heart of the project “Developing a model for the balance of energy use and indoor environment quality in school buildings”

Puerto Rican Cultural Arts and Expressive Arts Therapies: Mental Health and Collective Resilience Post-Hurricane Maria

The research aimed to study how integrating Puerto Rican popular cultural arts with the expressive arts therapies could assist the recovery process post Hurricane Maria. During post-disaster recovery efforts, access to formal psychological services are not always viable to survivors and the services available are usually not enough to cover the demand. The literature review examined the relationship between: mental health in the aftermath of natural disasters; cultural relevancy within the field of psychology in Puerto Rico; resilience in post-disaster communities; and psychosocial community interventions. Findings encouraged for programing for Puerto Rico’s psychosocial recovery from Hurricane Maria, or any future natural disaster, to reach vulnerable populations. For example: low socioeconomic communities, children, adolescents, older adults and those with less access to formal mental health services. In addition, psychosocial interventions should be ethno-culturally focused and place-based, and work within a critical-cultural and de-colonial framework towards resilience. Lastly, findings encourage for local community organizations to be trained in trauma-informed approaches in order to achieve greater mental health outreach. That way, they can assist in the recovery process by facilitating emotionally supportive environments and the use creative resources for the collective processing of traumatic events

Seasonal fluctuations in urban roost use by Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) in a highway overpass, San Angelo, Texas

I surveyed a large population of Tadarida brasiliensis roosting in a highway overpass in San Angelo, Tom Green County, Texas to determine roost use and seasonal patterns of occupancy. I compared occupancy patterns observed in 2014 to those observed when the site was last surveyed in 1995. Population counts and roost use were documented from February 2014 through February 2015. Bat populations ranged from 0 during some winter counts to an estimated high of 191,795 individuals in August. Rainfall affected roosting conditions. During times of precipitation, large numbers of bats temporarily vacated the roost, but they returned when conditions improved. I discovered that this roosting location for T. brasiliensis serves as a maternity roost during the summer. Compared to a previous study conducted on the same roost in 1995, there were similar trends in seasonal occupancy. I concluded that the colony at this roost fluctuates predictably year-round

Healthy learning environments

A good school environment is paramount to the performance and health of the pupils and teachers. However, the quality of school buildings in the Netherlands is in general not so good, with 80% of them not complying with good practices for the indoor environment, while having high energy costs. When tackling these issues, School Boards around the country have two options: building new facilities, or upgrading the existing ones. Although they usually prefer new buildings, municipalities around the country are promoting the alternative. This presents opportunities for the sustainable renovation of potentially thousands of buildings, to make them not only energy efficient, but with a high quality indoor environment as well; Energy efficient schools with good indoor environment are at the heart of the project “Developing a model for the balance of energy use and indoor environment quality in school buildings”

Indigenous Adolescent Girls\u27 Empowerment Network (IMAGEN)

The Population Council has developed and tested a cache of tools—which can be modified by and for Native communities—for organizations seeking to more intentionally serve girls. The tools allow programs to systematically gauge within their own communities the barriers and opportunities that exist for Native adolescent girls. This realization and opportunity sparked the creation of the Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN). The Network was conceived as a means of bringing together Native American–serving organizations that have the enthusiasm and capacity to adopt, document, and share evidence from programs that build on Native girls’ innate talents, while addressing the multiple challenges they face. The first steps toward building this network were taken during IMAGEN’s inaugural workshop at the Population Council headquarters in New York City in March 2017, attended by nine participants from six organizations covering different parts of Indian Country

Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN): Adapting the Girl Roster™ for Lakota communities

This brief reports on a first-of-a-kind meeting between the Population Council’s GIRLCenter and organizations such as the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society (WBCWS) that work locally with Native American communities to understand the specific needs of adolescent girls in Indian Country. This followed an inaugural meeting of the Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN) with its wealth of insight concerning the needs of the Native communities they serve, and the GIRL Center’s myriad programmatic tools and resources that have been tried and tested in global settings for several decades. The IMAGEN Approach is an adaptable process that links these two worlds, with the overarching goal of helping those organizations that are ready to incorporate girl-centered programming do so in a sustainable and impactful way. The brief describes workshops held on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, community insights and lessons learned, and next steps in girl-centered program design