Research Highlights Archive
Recycling Among the ALICE Population in Kootenai County: A Case Study
Primary Investigators: Woody Wood/ Major Prof. Bob Mahler
Description: This is a case study of households in Kootenai County, Idaho that are classified within the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) population. This study focused on engagement with recycling, if households in the ALICE population recycle, how to they feel about recycling and what factors influence their recycling behaviors and reactions. The ALICE population, as defined by the non-profit United Way, are households with income levels that meet basic needs, but do not have the ability to prepare for financial emergencies or spend on non-essentials.
Projected Outcomes/Goals: This case study attempts to answer the questions of how individuals and families that struggle to maintain their basic needs engage in, believe about and feel toward recycling. As a result of the case study recommendations are being developed for improving the recycling program that serves households with limited financial resources.
Long-term Perspectives on Streamflow and Tropical Cyclone Precipitation in the Southeast United States
Primary Investigators: Richie Thaxton, Geography Doctoral Student; Grant Harley, Associate Professor in Geography
Description: In the southeast U.S. concerns over water availability have increased in recent decades. This research aims to provide a long-term perspective on droughts and pluvials to help water managers better understand water variability in this region.
Projected Outcomes/Goals: Using tree rings, which provide annual records of streamflow and precipitation back long before contemporary records, we can understand water availability on much longer time scales. This work will produce a millennial-length reconstruction of streamflow for 3 crucial southeastern rivers, the Roanoke, the St. Johns and the Pascagoula, to help water managers better appreciate drought risk in the southeast.
A Case Study on Campus Sustainability in the Rural American West
Primary Investigators: Madison Dougherty, Environmental Science Doctoral Candidate
Description: This research explores the multiple meanings of sustainability in American higher education through an in-depth exploration of campus sustainability at University of Idaho.
Projected Outcomes/Goals: This work deepens our understanding of how higher education institutions can successfully implement sustainability programs in various campus cultures and contexts.
Engaging Narratives of Climate Change
Primary Investigators: Dilshani Sarathachandra, Kristin Haltinner, John Anderson
Description: This project will examine the impact of telling one's climate story on their perceptions of and affective engagement with climate change.
Projected Outcomes/Goals: The goals of this projects are to increase knowledge about the importance of storytelling and to increase understanding of how perceptions of climate change shift.
