Prescott College. Environmental Studies.

Before the invention of photography, artists were essential members of exploratory expeditions. When science emerged as a worthy goal of exploration during the Enlightenment, commanders of European naval vessels began to assign naturalist duties to officers and surgeons, and the ship's manifest often included civilian passengers who filled this role. Professional artists documented the living colors, landscapes, and events that could not otherwise...

"A GIS model was developed to determine which areas of Maricopa County are most vulnerable to PM10 pollution due to high potential PM10 levels and the presence of sensitive population groups. The ArcGIS model was developed using the new Rescale by Function tool which provided improved accuracy to suitability models by allowing continuous raster surfaces on a common scale."--leaf 6.

The Colorado River provides water resources to the majority of the American Southwest. Due to above-average streamflow at the time of its apportionments in 1922, its waters have consequently been overallocated. The Central Arizona Project (CAP) delivers Colorado River water to the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas and supplies 26% of Maricopa County's water for municipal uses. However, Arizona is a junior appropriator of Colorado River water,...

This thesis describes a research project conducted on a place-based education program to understand the impacts of snow on helping students foster a profound sense of place and sense of self. The project uses a twenty-five day Prescott College Backcountry Skiing and Avalanche Training class to research the aforementioned relationship. Using the heuristic research methodology, the author collects and presents structured reflections relating to specific...

This research centers on a summary of scientifically observed current effects of climate change on water security in China. It postulates that climate change has the potential to affect water security, and therefore, food security, at an increasingly rapid rate in the future, and discusses the climatic mechanisms by which these potentialities could occur. Specifically, it focuses on the relationship of water sources in the Tibetan Plateau with meteorological...

The Ngäbe, Panama's largest indigenous group, rely on natural resources to provide food, shelter, goods, and medicine. Many Ngäbe live in remote areas with limited access to modern healthcare services. Others do not have financial resources to visit health centers or confidence in the care they will receive there. Medicinal plants are used as an alternative to treat a variety of ailments and illnesses. Ngäbe botanicos , traditional healers,...

The research drew upon the principles of community based participatory research to conduct a community food assessment (CFA) in Fremont County, Wyoming. The CFA focused on: (1) The concerns residents have about food, and their perceptions of the county's food-related assets; (2) What is needed for a sustainable local food production including agriculture's assets and barriers. Consumer surveys, agriculture surveys, and photovoice were the research...

Previous studies have suggested a population limiting relationship between hermit crabs (Coenobita ) and their available shell resources. On the island of St. John, located in the U. S. Virgin Islands (USVI), the hermit crab Coenobita clypeatus is most often observed in shells of the intertidal gastropod, Cittarium pica (locally called "whelk"). Both traditional and recreational fisheries for whelks exist in the USVI and local resource managers suggest...

This research study examines the Communal Forest Enterprise and environmental education in the Purépecha indigenous community of San Juan Nuevo, México. The Communal Forest Enterprise, also known as La Comunidad Indigena, was created in 1981 to establish control and sustainably develop over 18,000 hectares of communal forest lands for the benefit of the local community. The enterprise generates over 1400 jobs for community members. Additional...

The growing environmental impact associated with the use of non-renewable fossil fuels warrants the consideration of shifting towards alternative energy sources, which will lead to a greater degree of energy independence and thus self determination. The shift towards alternative energy would also mean that educational institutions would need to adopt curricula that focus on the study of the environment and energy systems created by a shift in workforce...