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Salt Equalizer, Vol. 2015, Issue 2, Society Of American Law Teachers

SALT Equalizer

Contents of This Issue:

2016 SALT Annual Dinner, at 1.

2016 SALT Annual Dinner Sponsors, at 2.

Olympia Duhart & Ruben Garcia, Co-Presidents’ Column, at 2.

SALT Membership: Reduced Rates, Online Renewal, at 3.

SALT Files Amicus Brief Supporting University Diversity Efforts, at 4.

B.A. to J.D. Pipeline Event, at 5.

Junior Faculty Development Workshop, at 5.

Professor Justin Hansford Receives SALT Junior Faculty Award, at 6.

SALT Announces Co-Presidents Elect, Incoming Board of Governors, at 6.

SALT Comments on Revised Pay As You Earn Regulation, at 6.

Upcoming Events, at 7.

SALT Mourns the Loss of Former Board Members, …

Exploring Community Gardening: Motivations And Impacts, Kathleen Marie Gersky

Wayne State University Theses

Research shows the emergence of community gardens in urban areas serves to address issues such as food scarcity and community cohesion, creating positive implications at the neighborhood and city wide level. However, the research does not adequately address the impact it may have on a micro level in middle-upper class areas, potentially hindering the gardening movement. Understanding community gardens in all socioeconomic settings will be important to the broader sustainable food movement’s current and future success. In this thesis, I ask: what are the motivations and impacts of community gardening? The objectives are to understand how motivations and impacts may …

The Value Of Urban Parklands: A User Study Of The Baldwin Hills Park System, Stephanie Kim, Edward Hustleby

Center for Urban Resilience Research Posters

Urban parklands are well-documented as critical resources that provide users with extensive benefits and protect open spaces and natural habitat. The Baldwin Hills (BH) urban park system serves residents of Culver City, Los Angeles, Inglewood, local unincorporated counties, and the Larger Los Angeles County, as well as tourists and visitors from other parts of the region. This poster represents the pilot phase of an impending 2-year comprehensive survey of BH park user experiences that aims to inform improvements to quality of urban recreational spaces. The pilot study focused on 6 heavily used parks/ riverways within the BH system. Ten undergraduate …

Biology 104 Environmental Biology Online Summer 2015, Heidi Leuszler

Biology Courses

No abstract provided.

Biology 104 Environmental Biology Online Summer 2015, Mike Retzer

Biology Courses

No abstract provided.

The Political Economy Of Environmental Justice: A Comparative Study Of New Delhi And Los Angeles, Ratik Asokan

CMC Senior Theses

Though mainstream environmentalism, both in the U.S. and India, was initially rooted in social justice, it has, over time, moved away from this focus. The Environmental Justice Movement consequently arose to reunite social and environmental activism. In this thesis, I trace the historical relationship between the mainstream environmentalism, the Environmental Justice Movement, and marginalized communities. After providing this general overview, I examine two case studies – in Los Angeles and New Delhi respectively – where marginalized communities have been involved in Environmental Justice activities. My analysis reveals that marginalized communities often act in an ‘environmentalist’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ manner, without …

Community Building In The Classroom: Teaching Democratic Thinking Through Practicing Democratic Thinking, Danielle L. Lake

Faculty Peer Reviewed Articles

Key to teaching democratic thinking is actively engaging in the practice; and this, the article contends, is best facilitated by an experiential learning model where students are actively using, testing, and transforming not only the materials of the course, but also their own theories and experiences. Educators hoping to inspire democratic virtues and actions should also create and foster opportunities for community-building within the classroom by having students take more ownership for the class. This experiential process of learning disrupts the hierarchical theory-to-practice model traditionally implemented, reinforcing the value of an experiential and iterative practice of reflective engagement. In addition, …

Implementing Sustainable Literacy In Grand Rapids, Mi, Joe Neikirk, Hannah Swanson, Sam Blumer

LIB 322: Wicked Problems of Sustainability

Recognizing the dimensions and complexity of wicked problems, Phoenix Farms has decided to address the issue of sustainable illiteracy in Western Michigan. With a goal to work with local stakeholders, we have partnered with Sonder Farms in order to develop advertisements and classes aimed to raise awareness about, and interest in, sustainability. This partnership with Sonder Farms, a self-sustaining farm located in the Grand Rapids and Allendale communities, has given us the opportunity to put our skills, knowledge, and values to use in our local community. Sonder Farms practices conventional farming as well as aquaponics. Their hope is to target …

Table Of Contents

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The final issue of Volume XVIII, the Symposium Edition.

Letter From The Editor, Katherine Lent

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This issue explores various topics relating to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The articles in this issue grew out of the Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act Symposium held at the University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law in September 2014.

Environmental Justice As Civil Rights, Wyatt G. Sassman

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Environmental justice litigation using the Equal Protection Clause and civil rights statutes has largely failed. This article explains that failure as a result of a general shift by federal courts to limit the scope of civil rights law rather than an improper characterization of environmental justice as a civil rights issue. This explanation is important to both encourage and caution environmental justice advocates and scholars as they approach claims under Title VIII. I suggest that Title VIII's ability to bridge property and dignity may still present a powerful and much-needed tool for bringing equality to environmental law, but that, based …

Enst 594.02: Environmental Issues Of Native Americans, Rosalyn R. Lapier

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

An International Human Right To Self-Sufficiency, Haley Palfreyman Jankowski

Emory International Law Review Recent Developments

With the recent onslaught of global natural disasters and terrorism attacks, all people should be preparing themselves. To allow for this necessary preparation, the world community should recognize an international human right of all people to live in an environment of self-sufficiency. International law scholars have recognized similar rights and have often mentioned the importance of self-sufficiency in the context of these other rights, but none have yet cited self-sufficiency as an independent right. In this article, Haley Palfreyman Jankowski argues that such a right is inherent to every individual and is a natural outgrowth of several basic recognized human …

Women Talking About Water: Feminist Subjectivities And Intersectional Understandings, Leila M. Harris, Jyoti Phartiyal, Dayna Nadine Scott, Megan Peloso

Articles & Book Chapters

In this study based on discussions held by women's groups across Canada on water challenges and interests, we recognized that in the current context in Canada, women are truly connected with peoples, humans or any other form of life. They recognize that water is socially embedded, integrating issues of social, ecological and intergenerational justice in relation to complex changes in riparian landscapes. Clearly their talk is from a gender perspective, but we also found movement beyond gender that nuanced cross-sectoral understanding, critical links between gender, class and ethnicity are frequently mentioned.

Asset-Based Community Development: A Path Toward Authentic Community Development Practice, Cherry Stoltenberg Bruursema

SPNHA Review

Over the last fifty years, approximately $2.3 trillion has been spent to alleviate global poverty. Even so, the economic disparity between the poor and the non-poor is wider and continues to grow, while restlessness grows among civil societies, and socio-political power remains in the hands of an elite few. It is this development paradox with which the case for an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model purports to offer an authentic solution. Using secondary research, this paper examines three case studies of asset-based development from Ethiopia, Taiwan, and Guatemala. These case studies expose how ABCD can be utilized as a tool …

Untold Narratives: Refugee Experiences From Laos To Richmond, California, Laiseng Saechao

Scripps Senior Theses

Untold Narratives: A Refugee Experience from Laos to Richmond, California is focused on the Mien refugee experience from Laos to Richmond, California. This thesis highlights the ways Cold War politics, the Secret War, and heavy industrialization have impacted Mien communities who have been displaced from their homelands into refugee camps, and again through sponsorship into the United States. This thesis looks at political theories that discuss inequalities that exist, particularly through environmental degradation and negative health impacts that Mien refugees are experiencing in their resettlement into Richmond, California. Due to the limited scholarly articles and documented narratives that are available …

Innovation Or Inundation: The Political Economy Of Sea Level Rise In The San Francisco Bay Area, Nicole Quilliam

Pomona Senior Theses

Sea levels are rising around the world due to climate change and the rise in greenhouse gas emissions causing an environmental climate crisis. This thesis paper analyzes how sea level rise is affecting the San Francisco Bay Area. It walks through the geographical factors contribute to more severe impacts of sea level rise, potential adaptation strategies, and discusses the economic impacts and political challenges of protecting communities from sea level rise.

Roots Versus Wells: Grassroots Activism Against Fracking In New York And California, Shannon J. Leap

Pitzer Senior Theses

The reliance upon and depletion of fossil fuels as an energy source puts pressure on individuals, communities, energy companies, and policy-makers. Hydraulic fracturing – known colloquially as fracking – as a method of drilling for oil and natural gas temporarily alleviates this pressure since it allows for the extraction previously inaccessible fossil fuels in shale rock deposits deep beneath the Earth’s surface. This has resulted in a nationwide “fracking boom,” which has come with its share of economic benefits. However, the process of fracking can be detrimental to human and environmental health. In reaction to the increasing development of this …

Transit Focused Utc - January 1, 2015–December 31, 2015, Nctr

NCTR Transit Focused UTC

No abstract provided.

Seeing And Believing: The Emergent Nature Of Extreme Weather Perceptions, Matthew John Cutler

Doctoral Dissertations

Perceptions of environmental issues are influenced by a variety of factors. Sociological research on this topic has largely taken a social-psychological approach and as a result the effects of community and biophysical contexts on individual perceptions are given less attention than individual-level predictors, such as political party affiliation or measures of educational attainment. Using data from the Communities and Environment in Rural America (CERA) surveys, I employ a mixed-effects modeling technique to investigate the influence of individual- and county-level characteristics on public perceptions of unusual or extreme weather.

In addition to the survey data, I also utilize county-level weather events …

Influenza And Asthma Hospitalizations In Nyc From 2002-2012, Pauline Trinh

Public Health Theses

INTRODUCTION: The literature has focused primarily on rhinoviruses as the major determinant of asthma exacerbations. The association between other respiratory viruses such as influenza and asthma exacerbations is not well characterized and further understanding can better inform prevention strategies to reduce influenza-related asthma.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study is to determine whether asthma hospitalizations of children and adults in the five boroughs of New York City is correlated with influenza hospitalizations temporally and spatially and whether these correlations differ by county or age.

METHODS: A times series regression analysis was performed using influenza hospitalizations as the explanatory series …

Beyond Science And Hysteria: Reality And Perceptions Of Environmental Justice Concerns Surrounding Marcellus And Utica Shale Gas Development, Ann M. Eisenberg

Faculty Publications

The debate surrounding the use of hydraulic fracturing (also known as “fracking” or “HF”) to extract natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale deposits is often characterized as a tension between economic development and environmental risks. But frequently missing from this dichotomy is the fact that the concerns of many who oppose HF use extend beyond the purely “environmental,” and also include concerns about issues such as “the natural resource curse” and losing autonomy. These concerns ring of “environmental justice” rather than “environmentalism.” Environmental justice espouses the belief that no group should bear disproportionate environmental consequences resulting from industrial …

The Conflation Of Ethnicity And Religion In Malaysia: A Reflection, Mahmood Chandia, Kartina A. Choong

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

According to the Malaysian Constitution, a "Malay" is one who, among other things, professes the religion of Islam. All Malays are, by legal definition, at least Muslims and they are not at liberty to leave Islam since a renunciation of the Islamic faith is tantamount to a renunciation of one's legally defined ethnic identity. This constitutional conflation of ethnicity and religion, which also serves the purpose of uniting the Malays and advancing their socio-economic interests, has been a distinct feature of the social landscape of the country since 1957, when it gained independence from British rule. This Article seeks to …

Increasing Access To Natural Areas: Connecting Physical And Social Dimensions, Bradford S. Gentry, Jazmine Da Costa, Katie Christiansen Holsinger, W. Colby Tucker, Matthew R. Viens

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

Report of the 2015 Berkley Workshop

Held at the Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, Maine - July 2015

Interim Payments And Economic Damages To Compensate Private-Party Victims Of Hazardous Releases, Julie E. Steiner

Faculty Scholarship

There is a gap in tort recovery for many hazardous release victims. Hazardous spill victims receive different damage compensation based solely upon the type of hazardous substance released, with oil spill victims benefitting from a number of statutory damage recovery mechanisms that victims of other type of hazardous substance releases do not receive. Specifically, those injured by oil spills receive interim payments and recover for their economic loss. Yet, many victims injured by non-oil hazardous spills will incur economic harm but will not receive compensation because of a prohibition on recovery for economic loss absent accompanying physical injury or private …

The Keystone Xl Pipeline And The Dormant Commerce Clause: Would Action By Congress Preclude Adequate Environmental Regulation At The State Level?, S. Shane Stroud

Utah Law Review

The Commerce Clause significantly limits the ability of States and localities to regulate or otherwise burden the flow of interstate commerce, but it does not elevate free trade above all other values. As long as a State does not needlessly obstruct interstate trade or attempt to place itself in a position of economic isolation, it retains broad regulatory authority to protect the health and safety of its citizens and the integrity of its natural resources.

Insect-Resistant Transgenic Crops: Retrospect And Challenges, Allah Bakhsh, Saber Delpasand Khabbazi, Faheem Shahzad Baloch, Ufuk Demi̇rel, Mehmet Emi̇n Çalişkan, Rüştü Hati̇poğlu, Sebahatti̇n Özcan, Hakan Özkan

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The advent of genetic engineering has revolutionized agriculture remarkably with the development of superior insect-resistantcrop varieties harboring resistance against insect pests.Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been used as a main source for insect-resistantgenes. In addition to Bt endotoxins, various plant lectins and other non-Bt genes from different sources have also been introduced incrop plants of economic importance. The insect-resistant crops have made a huge economic impact worldwide since their commercialrelease. The cultivation of insect-resistant cultivars has resulted both in increased crop productivity and in decreased environmentalpollution. Although insect-resistant crops have been allowed to be commercialized following proper biosafety guidelines and procedures,still …

Social And Biological Interactions Of The Culver City Rain Garden, Emily Simso

Center for Urban Resilience Research Posters

As climate change progresses, cities are looking for sustainable strategies to address its impacts. Urban ecology has emerged in recent decades as a field that looks at how humans interact with their environment (Pickett et al, 2008), marking a shift towards viewing cities as social-ecological systems versus seeing a city as a closed ecosystem (Wu, 2014). Urban greening projects are increasingly relevant as cities reconsider planning and development to accommodate climate change impacts as well as citizens’ needs. Cities are both a primary cause of environment degradation and a source of innovative solutions (Urban Ecology History); specifically, Los Angeles has …

Public Hazard, Personal Peril: The Impact Of Non-Governmental Organizations In The Environmental Justice Movement, Andrea Y. Simpson

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This article argues that the local emphasis of what I call micromovements that form the larger Environmental Justice Movement could gain more traction from relationships with Non-Governmental Organizations. Such partnerships are emerging on a national level; however, since the localized movements communicate with, but are not partners with, national organizations such as the National Black Environmental Network, it is unclear how such partnerships add value to the activities of local groups. Moreover, some partnerships are forged for the organization of a specific event such as a conference or working group study Part II of this article discusses an overview of …

Nrdc Sues Epa For A Failure To Issue Hazardous Substance Regulations: The End Of A Decades-Long Public Risk In Sight, Jack Morgan

Law Student Publications

Currently there are no federal regulations that prevent hazardous substance spills at onshore facilities, such as tank farms, or in communities where a spill of those chemicals could threaten water supplies. On July 21, 2015, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a complaint on behalf of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform (EJHA) and People Concerned About Chemical Safety (PCCS) against EPA and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in her official capacity as administrator, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case has been assigned to Judge Shira A. Sheindlin. The …