Digital Commons Network^™

“It Is Laced With Faults”: American Indians, Public Participation And The Politics Of Siting A High-Level Nuclear Waste Repository, Jesse P. Van Gerven

Societies Without Borders

In this article I analyze American Indian claims made during the siting process for a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. By utilizing the concepts of distribution and recognition (Fraser 2003) to analyze American Indian claims for financial compensation, cultural artifact/resource protection, and environmental justice I reveal the existence and extent of both objective and intersubjective obstacles preventing greater public participation in environmental decision-making. Through a textual/discourse analysis of public documents associated with the Yucca Mountain Project, my analysis demonstrates how distributive and recognitional injustices impede democratic participation in environmental decision-making, which contributes to the continuation of environmental …

Cultivating Blossoming And Healing Ecologies Via Radical Virtue Ethics Con Cariño: Encouraging Learning, Care And Restorative Justice, Andrea Alejandra Ortiz Sotelo

Theses & ETDs

Our boundaries and responsibilities evolve as our communities and ecologies change. We generate value (and capital) from our active and creative connections but we often fail to recognize how our collective prosperity is proportional to our capacity to care for/about each other. All of us can blossom, but we need to learn how to help each other to flourish. If we care about our lives, (which we should/must learn to do) our becoming must be resourceful and resilient. We are all vulnerable because we are living creatures, although some of us experience more environmental injustices than others. It is necessary …

The Department Of Defense And Its Precursors: History, Responsibilities, And Policies (1770s - Present), Lisa M. Brady

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Department of Defense (DoD) is the nation's oldest agency, founded in 1789, and one of the world's largest single landholders, with approximately twenty-eight million acres under its control in the United States, its territories, and in thirty-eight countries. Over the course of nearly two and a half centuries, the DoD has enabled the United States to assert its influence and power on a global scale, with global consequences. Responsible for the military and defensive needs of the United States, the DoD has played a pivotal role in expanding and securing the nation's territorial claims and in spurring many of …

Wilderness As A Social Movement: Expanding Cultural Relevance In The 21st Century, Dylan Lang

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This year is the 50^th anniversary of two monumental pieces of legislation: the Wilderness Act and the Civil Rights Act. Though these two laws exist within different arenas of public affairs, both have had significant effects on American society.

The Wilderness Act was signed into law in 1964 with almost unanimous support, at a time when American society overwhelmingly supported its passage. Since 1964, wilderness has been criticized as an elitist ideal representing a small interest group in the United States. As our country becomes increasingly diverse, and public lands protection loses popular support, making wilderness more relevant to …

Concilio Superior Minutes 2010-2014, José Rivera

03. Selected Minutes and Reports

No abstract provided.

Complex Value Choices At The Environment-Energy Interface, Hari M. Osofsky

Articles

This dilemma of environment-energy decisions that have major positives and negatives from either a health or ecosystem perspective poses an important ethical challenge that this Essay explores. Namely, in many cases, one can value humans, species, and ecosystems, and still not be able to resolve the best way forward. The Essay focuses in particular on a core problem at the environment-energy interface: people demand cheap and reliable energy, which pushes us towards new technology or the massive expansion of existing technology, both of which carry risks and possibilities for a cleaner future. The Essay considers this dilemma in the U.S. …

Hybrid Energy Governance, Hari M. Osofsky, Hannah J. Wiseman

Articles

This Article develops a novel theory of energy governance and uses it to assess how institutional innovation can help meet critical challenges. Energy law is substantively complex and deeply fragmented. Each energy sector - including fuel extraction and pipelines, electricity generation and transmission, and transportation - has its own legal regime and federalism approach; confusion often exists at moments of crisis about how much authority federal, state, and local regulators have in these areas. The complexity and fragmentation of energy law are particularly problematic because the energy system faces major transitions due to emerging technology, more unpredictable and extreme weather …

2014 Spring Commencement, Georgia Southern University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Divided Government On Women's Organizations' Political Activity In Developed Democracies, Alexandria Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between divided government and women's organizations' political activity. In the literature divided government is associated with political openness leading to a decline in the repression of alternative political views and increased organizational activity. In this thesis I hypothesize that divided government is related to increased participation in political activity by women's organizations. Political activity is expected to increase during periods of divided government due to increased opportunities to influence formal government as political parties and elected officials compete for public support. This study analyzes political activity by organizations associated with the women's movement in two …

The City Of San Luis Obispo Housing Element Review, Januar Saptono

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

The Market For Local Public Goods, H. Spencer Banzhaf

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

"It Was My Job To Keep My Children Safe": Sandra Steingraber And The Parental Rhetoric Of Precaution, Mollie Katherine Murphy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Advancing the environmental movement requires overcoming a number of rhetorical challenges. Rhetors must negotiate the significant dichotomies of environmental rhetoric including human/nature, public/private, and science/experience. Moreover, they face the challenge of educating and mobilizing uninformed citizens to take action. This analysis focuses on how Sandra Steingraber, an ecologist, writer, and environmental activist, negotiates these challenges. I argue that Steingraber negotiates these challenges by turning to three interrelated rhetorical strategies: the feminine style, autobiography, and synecdoche. I illustrate this through an analysis of two texts Steingraber wrote after becoming a mother: Having Faith: An Ecologist’s Journey to Motherhood, and Raising Elijah: …

Are Mothers Hazardous To Their Children’S Health?: Law, Culture, And The Framing Of Risk, Linda C. Fentiman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article examines the psychosocial processes of risk construction and explores how these processes intersect with core principles of Anglo-American law. It does so by critiquing current cultural and legal perceptions that mothers, especially pregnant women, pose a risk to their children’s health. The Article’s core argument is that during the last four decades, both American society and American law have increasingly come to view mothers as a primary source of risk to children. This intense focus on the threat of maternal harm ignores significant environmental sources of injury, including fathers and other men, as well as exposure to toxic …

Equally Recognized? The Indigenous Peoples Of Newfoundland And Labrador, Sébastien Grammond

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

In Canada, certain indigenous groups are struggling to obtain official recognition of their status and rights. This is particularly so in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the authorities took the stance, when the province joined Canada in 1949, that no one would be legally considered indigenous. This paper analyzes the claims of the indigenous groups of that province, which have resulted, over the last 30 years, in various forms of official recognition. In particular, it highlights how the concept of equality was used by those groups to buttress their claims. Equality, in this context, was mainly conceived of as “sameness in …

What Is Environmental Justice?, Dayna Nadine Scott

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

This posting outlines the concept of "environmental justice" as I recently described it for an encyclopedia entry in the field of "Action Research". In this discipline, the term "environmental justice" describes more than a fair outcome. It is a social movement, and a theoretical lens, that is focused on fairness in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens, and in the processes that determine those distributions. In both cases, an attention to environmental justice means amplifying the voices of poor, racialized and Indigenous communities in environmental and natural resource policy-making venues -- places that have typically produced decisions resulting in …

Institutional Roles Of Political Processes, Expert Governance, And Judicial Review In Environmental Impact Assessment: A Theoretical Framework And A Case Study Of Taiwan, Chung-Lin Chen

Natural Resources Journal

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is used by most countries and is widely recognized as an important instrument for infusing sustainable development considerations into governmental decision-making. However, studies show that EIA often falls short of that goal. This article explores the design and operation of EIA through the lens of comparative institutional analysis. It examines the pros and cons of various governmental institutions charged with implementing EIA, uses a case study of Taiwan to demonstrate the validity of this analytical framework, and provides suggestions for future practices and legal reforms. This article proposes that the core problem that EIA is meant …

Symbolic Politics For Disempowered Communities: State Environmental Justice Policies, Tonya Lewis, Jessica Owley

Articles

No abstract provided.

Local Government And The Closing Of The Coast: Parking Bans And The Beach As A Traditional Public Forum, Robert Thompson

Fordham Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Weathering Nepa Review: Superstorms And Super Slow Urban Recovery, John Travis Marshall

Faculty Publications By Year

Delays in implementing long-term neighborhood housing recovery measures following urban disasters profoundly disrupt a city's revitalization and resurgence. Following recent large-scale urban disasters, some blame the National Environmental Policy Act environmental and historical review requirement for greatly slowing the long-term recovery process. They claim that the National Environmental Policy Act review is ill suited for the exigencies of disasters. Finding effective ways to advance urban disaster recovery as quickly as possible, while not compromising key environmental quality objectives, is a central challenge to implementing effective post-disaster recovery plans. This Article addresses how best to balance necessary regulation with critical disaster …

Enst 367.01: Environmental Politics And Policies, Robin K. Saha

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Enst 230h.01: Nature And Society, Daniel T. Spencer

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Ccs 395.01: Climate And Clean Energy Policy, Robin K. Saha

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Pubh 560.50: Environmental And Rural Health, Tony J. Ward

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Point-Of-Sale Strategies: A Tobacco Control Guide, Center For Public Health Systems Science, Laura Brossart, Sarah Moreland-Russell, Heidi Walsh, Anne Shea, Paige Riegel, Heidi Walsh, Laura Edison, Laura Bach, Caitlin Ashby, Rachel Barth, Isaiah Zoschke, Erin Foster

Center for Public Health Systems Science

This tobacco control guide, co-published by CPHSS and the Public Health Law Center (formerly Tobacco Control Legal Consortium) is designed to help state and local tobacco control staff build effective and sustainable comprehensive tobacco control programs. This guide focuses on ways to reduce access to tobacco and exposure to tobacco industry influence in the retail environment.

Elucidating Perceived And Actual Cancer Risk In Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Differentially Impacted By Environmental Hazards To Inform Future Public Health Interventions, Lashanta J. Rice

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, racial and ethnic minorities, economically disadvantaged and medically underserved groups bear a disproportionate amount of the cancer burden. Myriad social and environmental factors attribute to these disparities including disparate exposures to environmental pollutants, which account for two percent of all cancer deaths nationally. There is empirical evidence demonstrating risk perceptions and cancer worry are shaped by race/ethnicity and social and environmental experiences. Cancer risk perceptions among Non-Whites, especially Blacks compared to Whites is lower for various reasons. Low perceived cancer risk may explain persistent cancer disparities, since protective health behaviors are higher among persons who perceive …

Transit Justice For Youth In Multnomah County, Oregon: A For Youth By Youth Report, Lisa K. Bates

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

In May 2014, the MYC hosted young people at our first Youth Summit for Transit Justice. In this youth-led process, we brought together youth from across the county and adult policy-makers to address our region’s transit issues. It was an important step for building youth-adult partnership to improve transit access for young people in Multnomah County. In this report, we report on the Transit Justice Summit and the youth perspective on transit fares, access, and the importance of transit justice for the success of all youth in Portland and Multnomah County. This report was created from research we conducted to …

Jane Addams And Wicked Problems: Putting The Pragmatic Method To Use, Danielle L. Lake

Faculty Peer Reviewed Articles

Melioration of many social problems today requires a feminist pragmatist methodology since these problems are not only dynamically complex, but inherently wicked. That is, many of our social problems are characterized by intense disagreement, conflicting objectives, as well as high levels of uncertainty, variability and risk. Especially relevant to – but ignored by – current wicked problems scholars, early feminist-pragmatist Jane Addams illustrates how the pragmatic method is applicable to these wicked problems by employing this methodology on the ground in confronting the wicked problems of her time. In the end, I argue Addams ultimately provides valuable insights on how …

Health Law As Social Justice, Lindsay Wiley

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Health law is in the midst of a dramatic transformation. From a relatively narrow discipline focused on regulating relationships among individual patients, health care providers, and third-party payers, it is expanding into a far broader field with a burgeoning commitment to access to health care and assurance of healthy living conditions as matters of social justice. Through a series of incremental reform efforts stretching back decades before the Affordable Care Act and encompassing public health law as well as the law of health care financing and delivery, reducing health disparities has become a central focus of American health law and …

The Social Value Of Mortality Risk Reduction: Vsl Vs. The Social Welfare Function Approach, Matthew D. Adler, James K. Hammitt, Nicolas Treich

Faculty Scholarship

We examine how different welfarist frameworks evaluate the social value of mortality risk reduction. These frameworks include classical, distributively unweighted cost–benefit analysis—i.e., the “value per statistical life” (VSL) approach—and various social welfare functions (SWFs). The SWFs are either utilitarian or prioritarian, applied to policy choice under risk in either an “ex post” or “ex ante” manner. We examine the conditions on individual utility and on the SWF under which these frameworks display sensitivity to wealth and to baseline risk. Moreover, we discuss whether these frameworks satisfy related properties that have received some attention in the literature, namely equal value of …

Let's Not Eat Alone: A Search For Food Security Justice, Emma Shorr

Pitzer Senior Theses

The food justice movement has taken off in recent years. Despite its call for justice in the food system, it has been critiqued as being inaccessible to people who need food the most. The food system marginalizes women, minorities, and low-income people, making these groups the most at risk for food insecurity. Solutions to food insecurity come from both government and non-governmental avenues. This thesis calls for a merger of solutions to food insecurity and food justice in food security justice, and assesses the ability of solutions to food insecurity to confront issues of injustice. Community-based solutions currently have the …