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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
- Creators: Jalbert, Kirk
- Creators: Gidney, Jacob Robert
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
Natural gas development in the Northern Appalachian region has skyrocketed dramatically over the past decade. Correspondingly to the unprecedented growth rate of the natural gas industry, population health risks have shifted dramatically in response to both aerial and water pollution. With energy as a key input in all sectors of Appalachian life, the Pennsylvania region serves as a fascinating case study where clusters of unconventional gas drilling wells intersect varying population densities and governing laws to create different levels of health risks. Studies have found that horizontal hydraulic fracking corresponds to an increased risk of upper respiratory symptoms (URS), low birth weights, premature births, and certain cancers (White et al., 2009). Also, zoning and local planning laws are policy tools local governments can use to directly influence community wellbeing (Diez-Roux, 2011). This study will focus on the spatial relationship between upper respiratory symptoms (URS), a key volatile health benchmark, and the zoning/planning laws that the Oil and Natural Gas Industry must adhere to. Our project seeks to provide a preliminary understanding of the interplay between different natural gas zoning laws and the resulting health implication risks that appear in the Marcellus shale region of Pennsylvania. This is necessary to appropriately regulate and monitor hydraulic fracking. To get a better understanding of this phenomenon, spatial autocorrelation and analysis of variance statistics are integrated to generate a surface-level understanding of areas impacted by natural gas development. To guide the creation of our models, we geographically process the unconventional well locations, upper respiratory symptom health utilization, and zoning law data to develop insights that policymakers can take into consideration. Regionally, natural gas has become an integrated part of the energy sector and a driver of local economic development. The patterns drawn from this assessment provide a novel way of understanding the population health risks posed by different zoning ordinance models.
ContributorsHernandez, Aidan (Author) / York, Abigail (Thesis director) / Schomburg, Madeline (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor, Contributor) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
When the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) auctioned off federal lands in the Holbrook Basin area in Arizona, this action set off a furor among concerned residents and groups in Arizona. Under new rules, the BLM did not have to conduct a public input or environmental analysis before the lease auction. Furthermore, evidence suggests that oil and gas companies may use techniques similar to fracking to obtain helium gas from the Holbrook Basin. Through the analysis of the history of fracking in the United States (U.S.) and Arizona as well as fracking bans in four key states, New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Florida, this paper will illustrate some of the ways Arizona can go about preventing fracking. These case studies suggest that the best way to do this is to focus on the local level, specifically zoning regulations, and then move to the state level.
ContributorsHegde, Sakshi (Author) / Jalbert, Kirk (Thesis director) / Bruhis, Noa (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
Pseudo-steady state (PSS) flow is a dominant time-dependent flow regime during constant rate production from a closed reservoir. Using Chen's (2016) exact analytical solution for the PSS flow of a fully-penetrated fractured vertical well with finite conductivity in an elliptical drainage area, the computational time required to solve for the PSS constant b_D,PSS is greatly reduced. This constant is the inverse of the productivity index, J_D,PSS, which is often used in modern fracture design optimization. This paper correlates the PSS flow of a fully-penetrated fractured vertical well in triangular drainage areas to Chen's solution for an elliptical drainage area using shape factors. Numerical solutions for the PSS constant are created using COMSOL, which uses a 2D model of the fractured reservoir to output time and pressure data. For equivalent reservoir properties, the numerical data for the triangular reservoir yields a PSS constant that can be directly compared to the PSS constant obtained using Chen's solution. Lack of access to the Subsurface Flow Module of COMSOL greatly limited the number of simulations that could be run, thus more simulations would significantly improve the accuracy and applicability of the triangular shape factor by making it a function of the penetration ratio through nonlinear regression methods.
ContributorsLight, Christopher Ting-Yu (Author) / Chen, Kangping (Thesis director) / Liao, Yabin (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Climate change has necessitated the transition from non-renewable energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas to renewable, low-carbon energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric. These energy sources, although much better equipped to reduce carbon-induced climate change, require materials that pollute the environment when mined and can release toxic waste during processing and disposal. Critical minerals are used in low-carbon renewable energy, and they are subject to both the environmental issues that accompany regular mineral extraction as well as issues related to scarcity from geopolitical issues, trade policy, and geological rarity. Tellurium is a critical mineral produced primarily as a byproduct of copper and used in cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar panels. As these solar panels become more common, the problems that arise with many critical minerals’ usage (pollution, unfair distribution, human health complications) become more apparent. Looking at these issues through an energy justice framework can help to ensure availability, sustainability, inter/intragenerational equity, and accountability, and this framework can provide a more nuanced understanding of the costs and the benefits that will accrue with the transition to low-carbon, renewable energy. Energy justice issues surrounding the extraction of critical minerals will become increasingly prevalent as more countries pledge to have a zero-carbon future.
ContributorsMaas, Samantha (Author) / Jalbert, Kirk (Thesis director) / Chester, Mikhail (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
With an abundance of sunshine, the state of Arizona has the potential for producing large amounts of solar energy. However, in recent years Arizona has also become the focal point in a political battle to determine the value and future of residential solar energy fees, which has critical implications for distributed generation. As the debate grows, it is clear that solar policies developed in Arizona will influence other state regulators regarding their solar rate structures and Net Energy Metering; however, there is a hindrance in the progress of this discussion due to the varying frameworks of the stakeholders involved. For this project, I set out to understand and analyze why the different stakeholders have such conflicting viewpoints. Some groups interpret energy as a financial and technological object while others view it is an inherently social and political issue. I conducted research in three manners: 1) I attended public meetings, 2) hosted interviews, and 3) analyzed reports and studies on the value of solar. By using the SRP 2015 Rate Case as my central study, I will discuss how these opposing viewpoints do or do not incorporate various forms of justice such as distributive, participatory, and recognition justice. In regards to the SRP Rate Case, I will look at both the utility- consumer relationship and the public meeting processes in which they interact, in addition to the pricing plans. This work reveals that antiquated utility structures and a lack of participation and recognition justice are hindering the creation of policy changes that satisfy both the needs of the utilities and the community at large.
ContributorsGidney, Jacob Robert (Author) / Richter, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Jurik, Nancy (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
The town of Visaginas, originally known as Sniečkus, is a small city in Lithuania located about a two hour drive from the country's capital of Vilnius. While Vilnius is a lively and big city of about 600,000 that draws people in and acts as the country’s hub, Visaginas is a small and quiet town. The town is a Soviet-planned city, and was fully established in 1975 almost exclusively to house workers of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Its ties to Russia and nuclear energy give Visaginas a complex history. Almost all workers at the nuclear plant came from the Soviet Union, so the community served as an instrument for Russification. Visaginas' geographically isolated location and predominantly Russian speaking demographic effectively makes it an exclave in Lithuania. When the decommissioning of the INPP was completed, Visaginas lost its main source of economic revenue, but it was also a huge loss to the community because their sense of identity was strongly tied to the nuclear plant. Visaginas provides a one of a kind case study and a unique opportunity to examine the energy justice implications of the end of the nuclear industry.
The complex relationship between Lithuania and the Soviet Union, succeeded by Russia, has played a major role in shaping Visaginas as well as contributing to some of the ongoing struggles in the region. This thesis will aim to address the history of Visaginas in relation to the geopolitics between Russia and Lithuania and examine the lifespan of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. The decommissioning will be framed through the lens of energy justice by examining the distributive, participatory, and recognition justice implications that stemmed from the decommissioning process. Finally, the paper will address the era of post-nuclear urbanism in Visaginas, Lithuania, and explore possible future avenues for the town. This thesis is a comprehensive literature review of relevant research and studies completed relating to the topic, and elements informed by the Generator Project week-long field school, a European Humanities University energy justice fellowship.
ContributorsBussiere, Jacqueline (Author) / Richter, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Kelman, Jonathan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2024-05