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An Iterative Parametric Modeling Analysis of Architectural Indicators and Associated Impacts on Energy Consumption in a Pennsylvania Single-Family Home
(2018-05-17)
Residential buildings in the U.S. consume 21% of the total primary energy, mostly generated via conventional fossil fuels, a major contributor to environmental pollution and degradation (EIA, 2017). Hence, energy conservation ...
Quantifying the Impact of Regulatory Stringency in the Hydraulic Fracturing Industry
(2018-04-01)
Hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) has become an increasingly large part of the U.S. energy landscape over the past decade, providing increased domestic gas resources alongside rising concern over how the industry ...
A Comparative Analysis of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Funds: How Sustainable Are SRI Funds?
(2018-04-01)
Between 2012 and 2014, socially responsible investments (SRI) grew by 76%, with over $6.5 trillion now being held in managed SRI assets (Schueth et al., 2014). This remarkable growth accentuates the blossoming interest ...
Why Are Some Countries More Resilient Than Others During Acts of God?
(2018-05-18)
International human rights laws protect us from natural disasters, but how human rights violations cause/perpetuate natural disasters is unclear. Earthquakes can be devastating and are believed to be independent of climate ...
Using Submerged Aquatic Vegetation to Assess Riverfront Areas and Ecological Condition
(2018-11-05)
Current regulations dictating development on the banks of river systems found throughout Massachusetts are scientifically incomplete and result in unproductive arguments between landowners and local governments. According ...
A Critical Evaluation of Social and Eco-Labels Used in the Textile Industry: Their Possible Impact Demonstrated Through Environmental and Social LCA
(2018-08-02)
This thesis evaluated and compared social criteria of ecological (eco) and social labels used in the textile and apparel industry. Information about relevant end consumer facing labels was collected through standardsmap.org ...
Health Based Criteria for Use in Managing Airport and Aircraft Noise
(2018-05-19)
This thesis questions whether an exposure-dose relationship between measurable aircraft sound and health can be established. The significance of this research is that highly concentrated global populations live near ...
San Francisquito Creek Watershed Sustainability Analysis: A Novel Approach
(2018-10-09)
In the western US, most water consumers rely on imports from outside their local watershed. This has implications for both the recipient watershed as well as those which provide the water. The most widely-used metric ...
Climate Change and Corporate Profitability: The Effects of Greenhouse Gasses and Sustainability Strategies on Stock Price Performance
(2018-01-23)
This paper tests the hypothesis of whether or not a statistically significant relationship exists between a company’s direct and indirect greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and equity return performance. Approximately 750 ...
Cost Benefit Analysis of Food Waste Processing in Massachusetts
(2018-07-03)
This thesis aims to compare food waste processing technologies to understand which have higher socio-economic benefits. Each year, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food produced for human consumption is wasted globally ...