This project uses an input-output lifecycle assessment approach to estimate the greenhouse gas and conventional pollutants related to the goods and services consumed by the typical U.S. household. Both direct and indirect sources of emissions are considered in five broad categories of consumption: transportation, housing, food, goods and services. The model reveals the relative contribution of some 200 individual consumer decisions to environmental degradation. An initial attempt is also made to attach a dollar value to these pollution streams based on published estimates of the societal costs of these pollutants. The purpose of this project is to develop the framework for creating an interactive online assessment tool, called the Consumer Footprint Calculator, that will allow users to understand the impacts of spending decisions on a broad range of environmental, economic and social indicators.

Arctic marine mammal habitats are changing rapidly while marine shipping is increasing in some areas of the Arctic. Passive acoustic monitoring can increase understanding of Arctic marine mammal responses to change and to stressors, like ship traffic. The strength of inference from underwater sound recordings is limited by several factors that I address in this dissertation with the aim of improving the usefulness of acoustic monitoring findings for Arctic marine resource management. I provide spatial context for acoustic detections of bowhead whale sounds, enabling direct comparisons of acoustic presence across different locations and environmental conditions. Ice cover and noise substantially reduce the predicted listening area around underwater sound recorders. Spatially normalized acoustic detections reveal that bowhead whales utilize an area at least 140 km north of Alaska during their spring migration, migrating through large areas of >90% sea ice cover. I describe acoustic characteristics of beluga and narwhal echolocation clicks, which differ substantially in frequency content and rhythmic patterns. Sound absorption by seawater and apparent changes in animal orientation strongly affect frequency spectra of recorded clicks. Finally, I measure the underwater soundscape within a narwhal summer habitat and quantify underwater noise added by commercial ship traffic. The natural soundscape, excluding periods with nearby ships, is relatively quiet in an acoustically sheltered fiord. Distant sounds from regional shipping are apparent at a less-sheltered location open to long-range sound propagation. When ships pass the recording locations, sound levels are elevated above the median levels of natural sounds for periods ranging from 30 minutes up to >4 hours with each transit. Icebreaker and tanker ships radiate more underwater noise than general cargo and bulk carrier ships. Ship sounds overlap with common social sounds produced by narwhals and ringed seals at distances of 5 to >30 km from passing ships, possibly interfering with animal communication. Improved detection distance estimates and understanding of detection probability estimation coupled with increased confidence in detection and identification of beluga, narwhal, and bowhead sounds will facilitate passive acoustic density estimation of Arctic marine mammals, investigation of their relationships with habitat, and studies of their behavioral responses to ship traffic.

Low volume (LV) aerial and ground sprays have become an important method of application in Florida citrus. During Feb 2011, we started a trial in a 10.9 acre plot of 'Valencia' orange in Lee County comparing LV spray of 435 HMO with the Grower Standard (GS) and an Untreated check (UC) in 3x3 Latin square design.  A Proptec rotary atomizer P400D spray machine was used for all treatments. HMO was applied every 2 weeks at 2 gpa.  Significantly fewer ACP were seen on during May 2011 on GS trees than HMO trees, but during June these differences disappeared.  Between Aug – Oct 2011, mean adult ACP populations were lowest for GS, followed by HMO and UC.  Thus, LV oil treatments suppressed ACP, though not as effectively as the GS.  However during winter 2011 HMO treatments were as effective as GS.  Also, highest pound solids were seen from trees receiving HMO followed by UC and GS.  Citrus leafminer (CLM) damage assessments (May/July 2011) using a modified Horsfall-Barratt scale showed less damage with GS compared with Oil which in turn was less than UC.  However, CLM trap catches in Nov were significantly lower with HMO compared to GS and UC even though highest flush density was present on HMO-treated trees.  Canker ratings (2012) for HMO and GS have been significantly less than UC.  Thus, LV application of 435 horticultural mineral oil (HMO) for control of ACP and CLM have shown promising results the last 2 years.