Digital Commons Network^™

An African-Centered Approach To Land Education, Salvotore Engel-Dimauro, Karanja Keita Carroll

Publications and Research

Approaches to environmental education which are engaging with place and critical pedagogy have not yet broadly engaged with the African world and insights from Africana Studies and Geography. An African-centered approach facilitates people's reconnection to places and ecosystems in ways that do not reduce places to objects of conquest and things to be exploited for profitability and individual gain. Such an approach offers effective critiques of settler coloniser perspectives on the environment and deeper understandings of the relationship between worldview and ecologically sensitised education. Through examples from Africana Studies and Geography, this article provides an introduction to how an African-centered …

Zilphia Horton, A Voice For Change, Alicia R. Massie-Legg

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This dissertation examines the role of Zilphia Horton (1910-1956) in helping to establish the use of music as a powerful tool to unify and train groups involved in social reform at seminars led by Highlander Folk School. In engaging in what has been termed the “mobilization of music,” Mrs. Horton was active in labor disputes, training seminars in the United States and Canada, and the formation of women’s union auxiliaries from 1935 until 1956. The study uses correspondence written by Horton to her husband, Myles Horton; business letters to labor union officials and contributors to songsters; and writings revealing her …

Environmental Justice In Kentucky: A County-Level Study Of Enforcement Of The Clean Air Act, Katherine Meade

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Not available.

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

Journal Articles

Environmental law is riddled with symbolisms of protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the environment in which we live. Sometimes these symbols are simply inherent characteristics of the legislation or policy as their very creation symbolizes or represents the politico’s stance on an issue. Other times, the legislation or policy is used primarily as a symbol, without ever addressing the issue or effectuating change, sometimes referred to as symbolic politics. In this research, we apply the theory of symbolic politics to New York State’s decade-old policy on environmental justice and postulate that although the policy has …

Green And Grey: Water Justice, Privatization, And Resistance, William Mcclanahan

Online Theses and Dissertations

Since its initial proposal in the 1990s, `green criminology' has focused on environmental crimes and harms affecting non-human and human life, ecosystems, and the planet as a whole. Describing global trends toward privatization of water supply systems and the criminalization of several water conservation activities and tactics, this paper employs theoretical perspectives offered by green, cultural, and critical criminologies, focusing on overt resistance to water privatization and oppressive regulations governing rainwater storage and residential water recycling. Taking a critical theoretical perspective, this paper examines water access and autonomy, individuals and groups openly resisting the criminalization of household water reuse and …

Activism And Offense : A Philosophical Analysis, Stef Mcgraw

Honors Program Theses

In the realm of interpersonal interactions, there are many pieces of conventional wisdom that dictate how most Americans ought to behave. One such example of this is that Americans ought to “do good” in the world. This could mean simply acting kindly to others, but more often it is meant as taking explicit action to promote positive change in the world. Another social norm is that Americans, particularly Iowans and other Midwesterners1 , ought to “avoid causing offense.” It is not difficult to see how these two norms sometimes collide, since positive change often entails the transformation of social norms …

Protecting Your Environment, Exacerbating Justice: Avoiding "Mandate Havens", David Takacs

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Social Consequence, Stakeholder Influence, And Resource Needs For Marcellus Shale Communities, Mary Kathleen Gorman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The process of natural gas recovery by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, is a major scientific advance in unconventional energy development. Attention has largely been focused on its economic advantages and potential negative environmental repercussions, while less consideration given to its social dimensions. The purpose of this study was to explore the social consequences of fracking for communities in the Appalachian Basin's Marcellus shale. Research questions focused on the role of stakeholders and the resource needs of localities in shaping public policy. This study was guided by the tenets of the Boomtown theory along with key issues …

Science Wars As Culture Wars: Fracking And The Battle For The Hearts And Minds Of Women, Jenrose D. Fitzgerald

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

In this thesis, I examine how claims regarding the environmental and health impacts of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” are constructed by industry advocates who promote the practice and environmental and social justice groups who reject it. More specifically, I examine the cultural underpinnings of the debate over fracking, and the prominence of gender as a central framing device in that debate. While the controversy over fracking is often presented as scientific or technical in nature, I maintain that it is as much a culture war as it is a science war. I demonstrate this by showing how both pro-fracking and …

Transitioning A Community Away From Fossil-Fuel Generation To A Green Economy: An Approach Using State Utility Commission Authority, Alan Ramo, Deborah Behles

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Urban Ecology: Advancing Science And Society, Colby J. Tanner, Frederick R. Adler, Nancy B. Grimm, Peter M. Groffman, Simon A. Levin, Jason Munshi-South, Diane E. Pataki, Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman, William G. Wilson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Urban ecology has quickly become established as a central part of ecological thinking. As cities continue to grow in size and number, two questions serve to unify this broad and multidisciplinary research landscape: (1) how can urban ecology contribute to the science of ecology, and (2) how can urban ecology be applied to make cities more livable and sustainable? In spite of the advances made thus far, there are many unexplored ways of integrating the science and application of urban ecology. Although scientists assess and make predictions regarding the connections between environmental and socioeconomic processes, practitioners involved in real-world application …

Youth's Comprehension Of Environmental Justice Across Multiple Countries, Alexa L. Stovold

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Global climate change is an issue of environmental justice, because neither contributions toward the causes nor its consequences are equally distributed across and within countries (Roberts, 2001). Given the importance of framing climate change as an environmental justice issue, the present study sought to understand how youth conceptualize and engage with environmental justice across multiple countries. Youth are an important target population for engagement, because they often are active agents of social change by challenging the status-quo, and becoming civically engaged (Blythe & Harré, 2012; De Vreede, Warner & Pitter, 2014; United Nations, 2004).

The current research is a secondary …

The Structures And Practices Of Collaboration Among Environmental Organizations In Waterloo Region, Felix P. Munger

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Background: Studies investigating organizational collaboration report increased goal achievement in the case of collaboration but identify that developing effective collaborations is challenging. An increasing number of researchers and practitioners are applying emerging research tools such as social network analysis to study collaborations and many of those who have applied social network analysis suggest, anecdotally, that it is a useful process tool aimed at increasing understanding of collaboration and informed decision-making among collaborative members.

Aims: The main objectives are to: (1) Empirically study networking and collaboration among environmental organizations in Waterloo Region; (2) Contribute to theory and practice development by examining …

Transnational Forfeiture Of The Getty Bronze, Derek Fincham

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

Italy has been engaged in an ongoing fifty-year struggle to recover an ancient Greek bronze. The "Bronze Statue of a Victorious Youth" has a remarkable story. It was lost at sea in the Adriatic in antiquity; found by chance in international waters; smuggled into the Italian seaside village of Fano; hidden first in a bathtub, then a cabbage field; smuggled and hidden in Brazil; later conserved in Germany and London; and ultimately purchased by the Getty Museum only months after the death of the Trust's namesake, J. Paul Getty. Getty refused to allow his museum to purchase the statue during …

Values And Services Of A Protected Riverine Estuary In East Africa: The Wami River And Saadani National Park, Catherine Grace Mcnally

Open Access Dissertations

The dialogue pertaining to the management of riverine and coastal ecosystems has evolved over the past decade to consider ecosystem goods and services due to their ability to link ecosystem structure and function to human well-being. Ecosystem services are “a wide range of conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that are part of them, help sustain and fulfill human life” (Daily et al. 1997 p.2). Ecosystem goods emerge from ecosystem services and are defined as “organisms and their parts and products that grow in the wild and … are used directly for human benefits” (Daily et …

Indicator Analysis For Unpacking Poverty In New York City, Jochen Albrecht, Mimi Abramovitz

Publications and Research

This article presents work that is part of a larger and ongoing research agenda exploring the persistence of health and social problems in some parts of New York City. To this end, the authors have developed a GIS framework that translates a highly diverse set of variables into neighborhood indicators that can help local residents as well as decision makers to understand the relationship between “place” and individual behavior. Using the example of two new indices, Community Loss and Neighborhood Risks, the readers will learn how data can be transformed to emphasize the communal nature of phenomena that is typically …

Mitigating Myopia: Climate Change, Rolling Easements, And The Jersey Shore, Kevin J. Mahoney

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Genetically Modified Crops: Why Cultivation Matters, Hilary Weiss

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

E-Waste & The Regulatory Commons: A Proposal For The Decentralization Of International Environmental Regulation, Jing Jin

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Thousands Of Half-Lives To Go: Weighing The Risks Of Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage, Amanda Matos

Journal of Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

The U.S. Environmental Movement 1890-2002: Discourse Divisions, Environmental Crisis Events, And Strategic Concessions, Wendi Kane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Environmental Movement is facing a paradox: increased mobilization over the last 100 years has not been entirely effective in halting environmental degradation. This research suggests that discourse divisions among environmental movement organizations constitute a fundamental obstacle to progressive change. The discourse divisions are evident in movement organizing patterns during periods of increased environmental crisis over the history of the modern environmental movement. In addition, evidence suggests that federal environmental policy is an outcome of increased organizing among movement organizations with more transformative visions of change. However, policy outcomes from increased pressure among transformative organizations are significantly correlated with …

Room For A (Sacred) View? American Indian Tribes Confront Visual Desecration Caused By Wind Energy Projects, Allison M. Dussias

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Service For Learning, Service For Life: Depaul's Vincentian Mission In Action

DePaul Magazine

Through the thousands of alumni and students who are putting their education to work in service to others through service learning, volunteerism, and social welfare careers, DePaul University's Vincentian mission is being realized. In addition, the university is creating research partnerships to help service organizations develop effective strategies to combat such stubborn problems as poverty and homelessness.

Urhobo Culture And The Amnesty Program In Niger Delta, Nigeria: An Ethnographic Case Study, John Oghenero Tobor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite abundant oil resources, the residents of the Niger Delta endure extreme poverty, polluted environments, poor infrastructure, and high unemployment. In the early 1990s, these problems led to a violent uprising against oil exploration. In 2009 the government of Nigeria attempted to end the uprising by implementing an amnesty program for the militants that was designed to address the region's problems. The amnesty program resulted in suspending the violence but so far has not resolved the region's problems. If these problems are not addressed, the uprising may resume. Although the Urhobo people comprised the largest number of militants from the …

State Of Metropolitan Housing Report: 2014: A Look Back, A Look Forward., C. Norton, Lauren Heberle, A. Smith, R. Fenwick, D. Weinstein, K. Pugh, A. Sizemore

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Water-Related Perceptions And Practices Among Residents Living In Colonias In West Texas And South New Mexico, Relying On Container Or Well Water, Lydia Berenice Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

In the U.S. - Mexico border region, colonia residents must cope with the lack of clean water supply and other basic sanitary services. Because of the lack of infrastructure, colonia residents rely on alternative water supplies including either private wells or hauled water stored in large above-ground containers. Little is known about residents' perceptions of their water supplies, their use practices, and how water-related use and perceptions might differ between colonia residents relying on well water or container water. The purpose of this study was to examine the water-related perceptions and practices of people living in colonias, and to …

Birds And Beaches: The Affective Geographies And Sense Of Place Of Participants In The Coasst Citizen Science Program, Benjamin Kent Haywood

Theses and Dissertations

Participatory science research initiatives within the natural sciences like citizen science or crowd sourcing have enjoyed a recent explosion in popularity due to the efficient and expansive data collection processes they foster and the opportunities for general science outreach and education they provide. Now often the tool of choice among informal science outreach practitioners, Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR) programs are purported to expand knowledge and understanding of science and ecology, increase the relevancy of science for society, and cultivate more environmentally sustainable attitudes and behaviors. Despite such claims, the influence and impact of participatory science engagement is still …

Urban Agriculture And Sustainability In Chicago, Matthew Hoffmann

Dissertations

Sustainability is increasingly informing the organization of urban life. In the past 15 years, cities have sought to alleviate the dual effects of environmental degradation and a changing economy by introducing sustainable development initiatives. Policy makers and environmental activists have often praised these efforts, pointing to the enhancement of quality of life, the mitigation of industrial pollution, and these initiatives' capacity to address poverty in a post-welfare state. Most popular depictions of the experiences of sustainability come from the perspective of white, middle class, college-educated volunteers and, increasingly, social entrepreneurs such as artisans, farmers, and other producers connected to "local" …

Valuing The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: A Defense Of Countercultural Environmentalism, Mae Manupipatpong

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Combatting Reproductive Oppression: Why Reproductive Justice Cannot Stop At The Species Border, Marya Torrez

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that the oppression of nonhuman animals and marginalized humans, particularly women of color and low-income women, are deeply interconnected, especially through reproductive exploitation. It contends that the reproductive justice movement must expand its scope to include nonhuman animals, as their exploitation mirrors and perpetuates the oppression of marginalized humans. The article emphasizes that achieving true reproductive justice requires addressing the intertwined systems of domination based on species and sex.