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Reconsidering Accountability For Environmental Inspectors: Trading 'Compliance By Computer' For Relationship Building, Michelle C. Pautz Apr 2015

Reconsidering Accountability For Environmental Inspectors: Trading 'Compliance By Computer' For Relationship Building, Michelle C. Pautz

Michelle Pautz

Demands for government accountability extend into all the aspects of government service and the environmental realm is no different. Environmental inspectors — the front-line workers in environmental protection agencies — are among the many civil servants who face demands for accountability. Unfortunately, although accountability is desirable normatively speaking, in practice it is not so simple. Accountability for environmental inspectors frequently involves measures such as the number of inspections completed, the efficiency of data entry in agency databases, and the turnaround time on inspection reports. Such measures leave environmental inspectors, who ideally want — and practically need — to be in …


Environmental Regulation, Michelle C. Pautz Apr 2015

Environmental Regulation, Michelle C. Pautz

Michelle Pautz

The terms environment and regulation are commonplace in political and policy debates about the natural environment, the role of science, and the behavior of government. Indeed, these terms reference a very contentious area of public policy and are emblematic of the growing tensions between science and politics. This chapter overviews the definition, types, and history of environmental regulation before turning to the intersection of science and politics in environmental policy and considering current and future challenges for this aspect of governmental activity.


Redistributing Power In Mississippi: The Reversal Of Section 4 Of The Voting Rights Act, Gloria J. Billingsley, Sylvester Murray Mar 2015

Redistributing Power In Mississippi: The Reversal Of Section 4 Of The Voting Rights Act, Gloria J. Billingsley, Sylvester Murray

Sylvester Murray

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court declared Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional, essentially defanging preclearance requirements of Section 5 and leaving racial and other previously disenfranchised minorities unprotected. Using social contract theory as the theoretical framework, empirical field study research was used to examine whether the Voting Rights Act has achieved the results in Mississippi that the Supreme Court’s decision to revoke Section 4 has assumed. Data were collected on race-specific voter registration and voting data, measures of vote discrimination, litigations and Mississippi legislative activity regarding voting rights. Findings indicate that the gap between minority and …


Mother Earth "Speaks": Change Yourself, Change The World, Use The Archetypal Energy "Harmony" As A Guide, Carroy U. Ferguson Jun 2010

Mother Earth "Speaks": Change Yourself, Change The World, Use The Archetypal Energy "Harmony" As A Guide, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

In relation to the Cosmos, we all, as human beings, live on this tiny planet we call Earth, a planet that supports and sustains life, as we know it. There are many different kinds of people, plants, and animals functioning in harmony with soil, air, and water--all linked to one another in a complex web of life to form one Earth community. Unfortunately, we often take this miracle and ecosystem of life for granted. When, however, we take the ecosystem of life too much for granted, Mother Earth "speaks," reflecting imbalances and dis-harmonies. When Mother Earth "speaks," her message is …


The Science And Politics Of Ecological Risk: Bioinvasions Policies In The Us And Australia., Zdravka Tzankova Dec 2008

The Science And Politics Of Ecological Risk: Bioinvasions Policies In The Us And Australia., Zdravka Tzankova

Zdravka Tzankova

The US and Australia – western democracies with similar histories of public awareness on environmental issues and broadly comparable records of policy and regulatory action to safeguard environmental quality – have responded differently to one of the newest and most significant threats to marine bioidiversity: that of biological invasions mediated by the ballast water of commercial shipping. Each country has framed the same invasion risks differently for the purposes of policy and regulation: Australia has decided to use a more narrowly circumscribed, target-species-based approach whereas US policy and regulation takes a more comprehensive and precautionary approach. These somewhat surprising national …