As the impacts of water quality on human health become better understood, universities have an opportunity to equip students to become more informed and responsible citizens. We define "water literacy" as possessing the scientific knowledge to understand the links between water availability and usage, and being equipped to constructively…

Transdisciplinary approaches increasingly are needed to address complex environmental problems. Students can benefit from research and learning opportunities in which they investigate issues, integrate knowledge across disciplines, engage with stakeholders, collaborate with others, and devise solutions. This paper presents information on a 1-week…

"You Live in a Watershed" is a state park exhibit about watersheds. We conducted a two-pronged assessment of learning and attitudes. Study 1 employed a pretest-intervention-posttest design with 30 children visiting the exhibit on a fieldtrip. We found significant increases in knowledge and attitudes. Study 2 was a quasi-experimental…

Environmental stewardship is an underlying theme in outdoor education (OE) and environmental education (EE), but maintaining natural areas in a sustainable balance between conservation and preservation requires knowledge about how natural areas respond to anthropogenic disturbance. My five-part study investigated the effects of disturbance on…

Ocean acidification refers to the process by which seawater absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, producing aqueous carbonic acid. Acidic conditions increase the solubility of calcium carbonate, threatening corals and other calcareous organisms that depend on it for protective structures. The global nature of ocean acidification and the…

Arsenic is a toxic element to which humans are primarily exposed through food and water; it occurs as a result of human activities and naturally from the earth's crust. An experiment was developed for a senior level analytical laboratory utilizing an Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) for the analysis of arsenic in household…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the life cycle environmental impacts of the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Sciences' current printed annual report to a version distributed via the internet. Design/methodology/approach: Life cycle environmental impacts of both versions of the report are modeled using…

This is the first in a series of Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) playbooks intended to assist companies, higher education institutions, private philanthropies, membership associations, professional societies, government agencies, and other stakeholders seeking to understand the potential value of investing in coordinated strategic,…

This dissertation has two areas of focus: learning and developmental disorders (LDDs) and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs). Epidemiological and exposure assessment methods are applied to each. The first paper used geographic location as a surrogate for exposure and broadly assesses the effect of the environment, both physical and social, on LDD…

Information on water and water resources in Ohio is presented in seven sections. Water from Ohio streams, water storage, lakes in Ohio, and ground water are discussed in the first section ("Water, A Part of the Earth"). A brief discussion on the ecosystem is provided in the second section ("Water and Life"). Topics discussed in…

When working with elementary students, one never knows when that moment of "magic" will happen. For the author, an environmentalist who also conducts outreach activities with elementary students, one of the best of these experiences happened during a water-exploration trip in Ohio. This article describes how he used tools such as a hand…

Contamination of the environment with heavy metals such as lead presents many health risks. Simple, effective, and field-portable methods for the measurement of toxic metals in environmental samples are vital tools for evaluating the risks that these contaminants pose. This article describes the use of new developments in anodic stripping…

Describes how a water atlas can be used as a tool in conservation courses. Presents a three stage approach to a classroom exercise. Includes textbook study of a significance of water as a resource, student preparation of a list of local and state of Ohio environmental issues, and collection or creation of maps to create an atlas. (DK)

The purposes of this study were to determine the impact of a professional development program on the confidence levels and classroom practices of the participants and their attitudes toward the environment. The program had immersed teachers in a watershed study that took them from the headwaters of a 310-mile river to its confluence with the Ohio…

Scores of millions of dollars are spent annually in the United States for new school buildings. With this large. expenditure has come a general desire that schoolhouses shall be usable, healthful, comfortable, and beautiful. Educators and architects have united in devising plans for school buildings. This bureau has published a valuable bulletin…