Fertilizer, Runoff, and the Chesapeake Bay: A Sociotechnical Analysis 5 views

The safety risks presented by riding lawnmowers are extensive and difficult to solve. Once the blades are in motion, they are difficult to stop due to their inertia. This makes solutions which rely on stopping the blades to be prohibitively expensive for either the user or the manufacturer. Bringing the blades to a stop too quickly can result in damage to the blades, pushing the costs onto the user. To avoid this issue, my capstone team decided to design a radar-triggered device which drops a polycarbonate board in front of the blades to prevent contact between bystanders and the blades. The guard is held in place with an electronically activated latch, and once the danger has passed, the guard is drawn back into its resting position using a stepper motor. This design allows the user to avoid the cost of replacement blades and does not increase the production costs significantly. This study aims to examine the environmental impact of lawn care practices on pollution levels in the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay supports millions of dollars of economic activity as well as thousands of jobs. Much of that money relies on the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay. It contains diverse aquatic life as well as birds that live in and around its waters. Existing literature produced by government and private organizations, and existing research on the sociocultural value placed on lawns. Due to the size and complexity of the Bay and its surrounding communities, Actor Network Theory is necessary to form a more complete understanding of the competing interests as well as to avoid cascading effects solutions must avoid. The safety risks presented by riding lawnmowers are extensive and difficult to solve. Once the blades are in motion, they are difficult to stop due to their inertia. This makes solutions which rely on stopping the blades to be prohibitively expensive for either the user or the manufacturer. Bringing the blades to a stop too quickly can result in damage to the blades, pushing the costs onto the user. To avoid this issue, my capstone team decided to design a radar-triggered device which drops a polycarbonate board in front of the blades to prevent contact between bystanders and the blades. The guard is held in place with an electronically activated latch, and once the danger has passed, the guard is drawn back into its resting position using a stepper motor. This design allows the user to avoid the cost of replacement blades and does not increase the production costs significantly. This study aims to examine the environmental impact of lawn care practices on pollution levels in the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay supports millions of dollars of economic activity as well as thousands of jobs. Much of that money relies on the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay. It contains diverse aquatic life as well as birds that live in and around its waters. Existing literature produced by government and private organizations, and existing research on the sociocultural value placed on lawns. Due to the size and complexity of the Bay and its surrounding communities, Actor Network Theory is necessary to form a more complete understanding of the competing interests as well as to avoid cascading effects solutions must avoid.

BS (Bachelor of Science)

Pollution; Chesapeake Bay; Lawnmower

English

All rights reserved by the author (no additional license for public reuse)

2026-05-08