An Addiction to Capitalism: A Climate Story

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

My research recognizes, evaluates, and dissects the intersections of Political Theory and Communication to offer a rhetorical criticism of mainstream environmentalism. Through a careful analysis of case studies, political processes, and interdisciplinary theory, I illustrate and criticize how environmentalism as a justice movement has been co-opted by capitalism through its commodification and farcical regulation. In these regards, I conclude by acknowledging and appreciating the discursive efforts of Armory Lovins, Hunter Lovins, Paul Hawken for their work in Natural Capitalism, as well as the political progress of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez and her proposed Green New Deal.

An Analysis of Resin Flow and Growth Characteristics of Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana) in an old-growth fire excluded stand in the Western Sierra Nevada, California.

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) represents a culturally, ecologically, and economically important species that is threatened due to impacts from drought, fire exclusion, and beetle-disease complexes. One of the main defensive strategies of sugar pine to bark beetles and pathogens is the production of resin ducts structures, which secrete oleoresin compounds. In this study we look to analyze resin flow and growth traits, assessed as basal area increment (mm2), of older, larger (> 200 years) sugar pine to determine whether there are relationships between tree growth characteristics and oleoresin flow.

An EdVenturous Quest

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This project highlights the service learning project completed with the Humboldt County Office of Education community partner. More specifically their Redwood EdVentures Quests. These Quests are scavenger hunts that, with the help of interpretive learning clues, lead you through many of the North Coast parks and other nature trails. Not only do the quests add value to the specific quest locations, these quests create a space for childhood wonder and discovery of natural systems inspiring them to have a more harmonious relationship with their environment. On a deeper level, these quests foster ideas of environmental and social interdependence, shared leadership, and transformation.

An Evaluation of the Blue Lake Biomass Plant Emissions: Air Quality and Health Impact on the Blue Lake Rancheria

College of Professional Studies

The Blue Lake Rancheria community has had visibly polluted air and matter emitted from the local biomass plant over the recent past. The Rancheria is concerned about the negative health impact the biomass plant could be having on the environment and community. This literary review hopes to establish an understanding of the impact of the Blue Lake biomass energy plant’s impact on air quality, determine standards of emissions which it operates and examine the gaps between current healthy standards of emission and that of the Blue Lake biomass plant. The findings will inform the Blue Lake Rancheria and will raise public awareness of the air quality and health impact of the biomass energy plant.

An Inside Look At Your Local Community School

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This report summarizes the experience working with Humboldt County Office of Education at the Eureka Community School. The goal of this project is to enhance visibility of the education system at court schools and improve upon each individual’s learning experience. This was accomplished through in-depth interviews with staff faculty at the Eureka Community School alongside 30+ volunteer hours as an aid in the classroom.

An Intergroup Threat Theory Approach to Support for Political Movements, Symbols, and Candidates

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This research project utilizes Intergroup Threat Theory to examine how positive and negative contact with African-Americans relate to feelings toward Black Lives Matter, the Confederate Flag, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump. It also examines how this relationship between contact and feelings is mediated by perceptions of realistic and symbolic threat from African-Americans. This project has implications for understanding how having diverse social experiences may influence our political beliefs. This research also shows that Intergroup Threat Theory goes beyond just examining evaluations of groups, and extends to political figures, movements, and symbols as well.

An Investigation into the Copper Toxicity of Anti-Fouling Paint

College of Professional Studies

The goal of our research is to analyze the effect of copper toxicity in anti-fouling paint on invasive bryozoan specie. The goal of this project is to determine the ideal concentration of copper in anti-fouling paint to prevent the ability of these invasive specie to attach themselves to ship hulls and be transported around the oceans.

Anabaena Sensory Rhodopsin Membrane Protein

Jacquelyn Amadeo-Ranch, Chemistry Undergraduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Rhodopsins are light-sensitive proteins within the G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) family that convert photons into intracellular chemical signals that perform downstream biological functions. Anabaena sensory rhodopsin (ASR) with a 6x-His tag was isolated and purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography after evaluating clones of induced E. coli transformed with a pET15b plasmid. The most viable clones discovered from this study were BU3E and Box A. SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis confirmed the protein size of 20.65 kDa. These results indicate that these 2 strains can be utilized for further studies on ASR function in nanodiscs.

Anabaena Sensory Rhodopsin nanodisc assisted antifungal transport into Brewer's yeast

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Our experiment hopes to answer the question of whether or not nanodiscs make an effective means of transporting medication, specifically in the treatment of fungal infections. We hope this adds to research that is currently examining its effectiveness in the transport of chemotherapy drugs to prevent collateral cell death; there is current evidence to support these assumptions. To do this, we are testing the transport of Terbinafine into Brewer's yeast in the hopes of inducing cell death.

Anabaena Sensory Rhodopsin Nanodiscs to Probe Transcriptional Regulation

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

The membrane protein Anabaena Sensory Rhodopsin (ASR) is a prokaryotic retinal containing photoactive protein, from Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, undergoes a conformational change upon absorption of light. This causes the release of an associated so-called transducer protein ASRT. It has been proposed that this protein complex directly controls transcription of the cpc genes. The goal of this project is to study photo-induced transcriptional regulation properties of ASR and ASRT. To do this we will assemble ASR nanolipoprotein particles or ASR-NLPs. NLPs are unique in that they allow for a membrane protein to be solubilized while still allowing both ends of the membrane protein to be accessed.