Digital Commons Network^™

Applying A Novel Systems Approach To Address Systemic Environmental Injustices: Constructing Soil For Limiting The Legacy Of Lead (Pb), Sara Perl Egendorf, Peter M. Groffman, Zhongqi Cheng, Michael Menser, Jan Mun, Howard Mielke

Advanced Science Research Center

The knowledge of unsustainable human and Earth system interactions is widespread, especially in light of systemic environmental injustices. Systems science has enabled complex and rigorous understandings of human and Earth system dynamics, particularly relating to pollution of Earth’s land, water, air, and organisms. Given that many of these systems are not functioning sustainably or optimally, how might this field enable both rigorous understanding of the issues and experiments aimed at alternative outcomes? Here, we put forth a novel, multiscale systems science approach with three steps: (1) understanding the systemic issues at hand, (2) identifying systemic interventions, and (3) applying experiments …

Building Urban Resilience In New York City, Eliseo Magsambol Cubol

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Existing research shows that cities around the world are now turning to urban resilience as a new approach to governing the urban climate challenges because of the increasing exposure of vulnerable populations and critical infrastructures in coastal cities and communities to extreme weather events. However, there is limited scholarly understanding about how cities and urban regions overcome challenges to the implementation of urban resilience. In particular, little research has focused on local stakeholder perspectives on urban resilience, which can offer valuable insights to help cities and urban regions address these challenges. To better understand stakeholder perspectives, this dissertation shares the …

Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities And The Struggle For Water Justice In California, Jonathan K. London, Amanda L. Fencl, Sara Watterson, Yasmina Choueiri, Phoebe Seaton, Jennifer Jarin, Mia Dawson, Alfonso Aranda, Aaron King, Peter Nguyen, Camille Pannu, Laurel Firestone, Colin Bailey

Faculty Scholarship

This article maps a meshwork of formal and informal elements of places called Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities (DUCs) to understand the role of informality in producing unjust access to safe drinking water in California’s San Joaquin Valley. It examines the spatial, racial, and class-based dimensions of informality. The paper aims to both enrich the literature on informality studies and use the concept of informality to expand research on DUCs and water access. We use socio-spatial analyses of the relationships between informality and water justice to reach the following conclusions: DUCs face severe problems in access to safe drinking water; disparities in …

Emerging State-Level Environmental Justice Laws, Michael B. Gerrard, Edward Mctiernan

Faculty Scholarship

Environmental justice (EJ) has grown in prominence in the political discourse in the last several years While most of the attention has gone to federal actions, several states have just adopted their own laws to advance EJ.

The basic idea behind EJ is that disadvantaged communities should not be disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards, that these communities should have a say in the actions that affect their environment, and that the environmental laws should be vigorously enforced there.

Adaptive Management And Nepa: How To Reconcile Predictive Assessment In The Face Of Uncertainty With Natural Resource Management Flexibility And Success, Robert L. Glicksman, Jarryd Page

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

For years, public lands scholars lamented the limited success that federal agencies had in applying adaptive management decisionmaking processes in pursuit of their natural resource management responsibilities. Agency duties to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) have played a role in creating a disconnect between the theory and application of adaptive management. NEPA was designed to force agencies to predict (and consider ways to avoid) the adverse environmental impacts of actions before committing to them. Adaptive management is built on the premise that, at least in conditions of uncertainty such as those that often characterize natural resource management, …

Environmental Reforestation And Social Justice In Cameroon: A Test Case For Pope Francis' Concept Of 'Integral Ecology' In Laudato Sí, Augustin Vondou

Dissertations

The following quotation from Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Sí is one of the most quoted parts of his well-known encyclical: We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature (139).

This is a very challenging statement. Not everyone accepts this idea of an ‘integral ecology’; that is, the notion that the condition of human society is directly linked to the …

Different Ways Of Knowing And Growing: A Case Study Of An Arts-Integrated Pedagogy At An Urban Elementary Charter School, Amarpal Khanna

LMU Theses and Dissertations

An arts equity gap exists in K–12 grade education. African American and Latinx students have fewer opportunities for access to arts education than do White students. In California, charter schools have an opportunity to address the equity gap for students in those demographic groups. The goal of this qualitative case study was to observe how Kahlo Charter Elementary School, an urban charter elementary school in Los Angeles County, implemented an arts integrated curriculum and to identify benefits and challenges for fourth and fifth grade students of color enrolled at the school. Aesthetic learning (Bose, 2008; Denaway, 2013; Greene, 1978, 1995, …

A Relational Ecology Of Photographic Practices: Towards A Non-Anthropocentric Approach To Photography, Jacqueline Knight

School of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

This thesis argues that as photography’s technological basis has become more complex and increasingly detached from human vision, a thicker account of photographic practice that moves away from humanist discourse and single authorship can assist in demonstrating a continuity between film and new technological photographic practices. It revisits key concepts in documentary photography such as the ‘decisive moment’ through the filter of particular historical, technological and philosophical ideas that have informed the critical engagement with photography as a media of representation. It reconsiders some orthodox assumptions about photography including the idea that photography is fundamentally a human-centred practice and that …

Health Reform Reconstruction, Lindsay F. Wiley, Elizabeth Y. Mccuskey, Matthew B. Lawrence, Erin C. Fuse Brown

Faculty Articles

This Article connects the failed, inequitable U.S. coronavirus pandemic response to conceptual and structural constraints that have held back U.S health reform for decades and calls for reconstruction. For more than a half-century, a cramped “iron triangle” ethos has constrained health reform conceptually. Reforms aimed to balance individual interests in cost, quality, and access to health care, while marginalizing equity, solidarity, and public health. In the iron triangle era, reforms unquestioningly accommodated four legally and logistically entrenched fixtures — individualism, fiscal fragmentation, privatization, and federalism — that distort and diffuse any reach toward social justice. The profound racial disparities and …

Black Outside: A Film Exploring Black People’S Relationships With Outdoor Spaces, Zoie Bills

Senior Independent Study Theses

Spending time in nature is regarded as a great way to have fun and improve one’s mental or physical health. Black people are largely underrepresented in public parks and other outdoor spaces. My film explores the lack of Black presence in outdoor spaces in an effort to promote Black people’s usage of these places. I used interviews with students, environmental activists, and my own family in order to explore the scholarly, structural, cultural, and personal factors that impact Black folks’ engagement with the outdoors. The interviews revealed several major takeaways including that Black people have historical roots in outdoor spaces …

Producing Possibilities: Envisioning And Mediating Youth, Identities, And Futures In Central Appalachia, Tammy Lynn Clemons

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation, based on anthropological research between 2015 and 2020, focuses on young people in different yet interconnected social contexts in Central Appalachia and how they envision, construct, and act upon possibilities for themselves and the region through multimodal cultural production processes like visual art, performance, and multisensory media. The research question focusing this project was: How do the social contexts of young Appalachians’ engagement in media consumption and production practices shape the possibilities they envision for themselves, others, and their region? I found that the specific contexts were less important than the interconnected mentoring conversations across sites and generations …

Sociological Perspectives On Climate Change And Society: A Review, Md Saidul Islam, Edson Kieu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Society is at an important intersection in dealing with the challenges of climate change, and this paper is presented at a critical juncture in light of growing recognition that the natural sciences are insufficient to deal with these challenges. Critical aspects of sociological perspectives related to climate change research are brought together in this review in the hope of fostering greater interdisciplinary collaboration between the natural and social sciences. We fervently argue for the need to inculcate interdisciplinary approaches that can provide innovative perspectives and solutions to the challenges we face from the impacts of climate change. As such, some …

The Representation Of Animal And “Non-Human” Characters In Indra Sinha’S Animal’S People, Sirawit Sriphuthorn

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This paper aims at examining the representation of Animal, the protagonist, and “non-human” characters in Indra Sinha’s Animal’s People (2007). It discusses various ways in which the socially constructed concepts of “humanity” and “animality” are called into question and strategically deployed in the portrayal of these characters. It argues that Sinha attempts to dismantle binary thinking which not only constitutes the distinction between the human and the animal but also underpins the West’s domination of the East. More specifically, the paper argues that Animal whose deformity is caused by exposure to the toxic gas suffers from alienation—both from himself and …

Developing A Model For The Integration Of Bajau Traditional Ecological Knowledge In The Management Of Locally Managed Marine Area: A Case Study Of Wakatobi Regency, Indonesia, Wengki Ariando

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Attaining sustainable resource management encompasses multilevel challenges and interdisciplinary approaches from grassroots efforts to international agreements. In the context of coastal and marine management, the complexities represented by the variety of local entities, regimes, and institutional supports are captured as current challenges in sustainability efforts. Such challenges, unfortunately, persist in the group of customary communities such as those of the Bajau, who live in coastal and marine areas. In an effort to address the aforementioned challenges, this research proposes a model for integrating the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of the Bajau into Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA) scheme in Wakatobi, …

อาชญากรรมสิ่งแวดล้อม: กรณีศึกษาผลกระทบของการลักลอบนำเข้าขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์ ในประเทศไทย, นภัสสร เปียจันทร์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

วิทยานิพนธ์เรื่องอาชญากรรมสิ่งแวดล้อม: กรณีศึกษาผลกระทบของการลักลอบนำเข้าขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์ในประเทศไทย มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาสภาพปัญหาและผลกระทบของการลักลอบนำเข้าขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์ในประเทศไทย ศึกษาปัจจัยของการลักลอบนำเข้าขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์ในประเทศไทยและเสนอแนะแนวทางและมาตรการในการป้องกันและแก้ไขการลักลอบนําเข้าขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์ในประเทศไทยให้สอดคล้องกับอนุสัญญาบาเซล (Basel Convention) โดยเป็นการศึกษาเชิงคุณภาพด้วยการวิจัยเชิงเอกสารและการสัมภาษณ์เชิงลึกจากผู้ให้ข้อมูลสำคัญในหน่วยงานภาครัฐบาลและภาคประชาสังคม จำนวน 10 ราย ผลการศึกษาพบว่า สภาพปัญหาการลักลอบนำเข้าขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์เริ่มมาจากการที่ประเทศจีนมีประกาศห้ามนำเข้าขยะรีไซเคิลอย่างเด็ดขาดในปี พ.ศ. 2560 และปัญหาการกำจัดขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์ที่มีอยู่เดิมของประเทศไทย ทำให้ปริมาณขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์ในประเทศไทยมีจำนวนสูงมากขึ้น พบการลักลอบโดยการสำแดงเท็จ การดำเนินการส่วนใหญ่มักยุติที่ชั้นศุลกากรโดยไม่เข้าสู่กระบวนการทางอาญาแม้จะมีกฎหมายระบุไว้ การลักลอบนำเข้าขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์จะส่งผลกระทบต่อสิ่งแวดล้อม ระบบนิเวศ สุขภาพ สังคม ชุมชน และเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ สำหรับปัจจัยของการลักลอบนำเข้าขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์นั้น มีทั้งหมด 4 ด้าน ได้แก่ ปัจจัยด้านพื้นที่ ปัจจัยด้านการปฏิบัติงานของเจ้าหน้าที่ผู้บังคับใช้กฎหมาย ปัจจัยด้านการบังคับใช้กฎหมาย และปัจจัยด้านความคุ้มค่า ผลการศึกษาแนวทางในการป้องกัน และแก้ไขปัญหาการลักลอบนำเข้าขยะอิเล็กทรอนิกส์มีทั้งหมด 3 ด้าน ได้แก่ ด้านการปฏิบัติงาน และการบูรณาการร่วมกันของหน่วยงานที่เกี่ยวข้อง การปรับปรุงแก้ไขกฎหมาย/นโยบาย/มาตรการ และการบังคับใช้อย่างเคร่งครัด และการสร้างจิตสำนึก และการตระหนักถึงปัญหาสิ่งแวดล้อมให้มากยิ่งขึ้น

Distribution Of Green Spaces In Omaha, Nebraska, Sofia Gavia

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The distribution of parks often depends on the races, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class of a community’s households. Parks and green spaces provides community residents recreational opportunities, economic benefits, and improves community public health. The unequal distribution of parks and green spaces in a city is a social issue found across the country. Limited research has been done on the relationship between green spaces and park access and social justice in Omaha, Nebraska. This study discusses whether there is a difference in how parks are distributed in Omaha, NE in terms of social justice and equitable distribution. Research is done using …

Public Library-Based Social Work Field Placements: Guidance For Public Libraries Planning To Become A Social Work Practicum Site, Elizabeth A. Wahler, Jacob D. Ressler, Sarah C. Johnson, Colleen Rortvedt, Tasha Saecker, John Helling, Michael A. Williams, Danielle Hoover

Publications and Research

Public libraries are increasingly faced with patron psychosocial needs, including mental health problems, substance use, homelessness, or poverty-related needs. Since library staff are often not trained to address these needs, many are choosing to host on-site social work practicum students to provide information and referrals for patrons presenting with psychosocial needs. However, little existing guidance is available about initiating a social work practicum placement, which can leave libraries unprepared and often “reinventing the wheel”. This manuscript provides guidance on the steps that should be considered by libraries intending to host their first social work practicum student.

Flourish: Combating Food Insecurity & Promoting Wellness On A College Campus, Jocelyn Zavala

Theses and Dissertations

MOTIVATION In the past, it has been assumed that students enrolled in college are fairly privileged individuals unlikely to face challenges associated with poverty (Haskett et al., 2020). That assumption has been challenged in the past few decades and a survey released last year by the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice indicated that 45% of today’s higher education students face food insecurity (Goldrick-Rab et al., 2019). According to VCU’s Dean of Students Office, it is a situation in which a student lacks access to enough nutritious food in order to live a healthy, active life. Food insecurity can …

The Right To Benefit From Big Data As A Public Resource, Mary D. Fan

Articles

The information that we reveal from interactions online and with electronic devices has massive value—for both private profit and public benefit, such as improving health, safety, and even commute times. Who owns the lucrative big data that we generate through the everyday necessity of interacting with technology? Calls for legal regulation regarding how companies use our data have spurred laws and proposals framed by the predominant lens of individual privacy and the right to control and delete data about oneself. By focusing on individual control over droplets of personal data, the major consumer privacy regimes overlook the important question of …

The Advocate (Fall 2021), Lewis & Clark Law School

The Advocate

No abstract provided.

Making America A Better Place For All: Sustainable Development Recommendations For The Biden Administration, John C. Dernbach, Scott E. Schang, Robert W. Adler, Karol Boudreaux, John Bouman, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Kimberly Brown, Mikhail Chester, Michael B. Gerrard, Stephen Herzenberg, Samuel Markolf, Corey Malone-Smolla, Jane Nelson, Uma Outka, Tony Pipa, Alexandra Phelan, Leroy Paddock, Jonathan D. Rosenbloom, William Snape, Anastasia Telesetsky, Gerald Torres, Elizabeth Ann Kronk Warner, Audra Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

In 2015, the United Nations Member States, including the United States, unanimously approved 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. The SDGs are nonbinding; each nation is to implement them based on its own priorities and circumstances. This Article argues that the SDGs are a critical normative framework the United States should use to improve human quality of life, freedom, and opportunity by integrating economic and social development with environmental protection. It collects the recommendations of 22 experts on steps that the Biden-Harris Administration should take now to advance each of the SDGs. It is part of …

Wind River Dumps: Trash To Treasure, Elizabeth Stephani

Wyoming Law Review

No abstract provided.

Servant-Leadership For Social And Environmental Justice, Jeff Vanek

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Whether we are talking social or environmental justice, we are talking about people issues. Humanity and nature are inseparably intertwined, and servant-leadership is the perfect leadership style needed to address the challenges our planet faces. The term servant-leader, as used today, was coined by Robert Greenleaf in his 1970 essay The Servant as Leader

Women, Water, And Well-Being: Gendered Experiences Of Household Water Contamination In Parkersburg, West Virginia, Emily Brooke Tingler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

DuPont Washington Works chemical plant knowingly pumped hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic C8 waste into local waterways, water tables, and landfills for over 40 years, contaminating the drinking water for more than 100,000 residents in and around Parkersburg, West Virginia. Drawing on feminist political ecology and the political ecology of water with literature on perceptions of risk in contaminated communities, environmental reproductive justice, modern water, and hydrosocial waterscapes, I examine, through a qualitative case study, the lived experiences of women who have an intimate understanding of C8 water contamination from the DuPont Washington Works chemical plant. Specifically, I …

Osgoode Syllabus Of Courses And Seminars: 2021 - 2022, Office Of Student Services

Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Today And Yesterday, Vol. 45, 2021, Illinois State University, Department Of History

Today and Yesterday

Newsletter of the Illinois State University Department of History

Reclaiming Black And Indigenous Ecologies On Block Island Through Oral History And Ethnography, Adrian Cato

Open Access Master's Theses

Public memory on Block Island largely ignores Black and Indigenous labor, life, and legacy. Reclaiming the past and present narratives of Black and Indigenous peoples on Block Island challenges historical erasure; their experiences can then become a meaningful part of the collective public memory of the region. Black and Indigenous women are a key aspect of erased and reclaimed memory, often tasked with maintaining place for their families over generations, upholding their connection to their land and their history - depended upon to maintain and pass down tradition. Developing new memory worlds would mean recognizing the contributions of Black-Indigenous peoples, …

Social Impacts Of Extended Ski Resort Operations On Forest Service Lands, Jordan Smith, Urian Guadarrama

All Current Publications

The purpose of this document is to catalog and describe how the USDA Forest Service has assessed the socioeconomic impacts associated with expanded ski resort operations on Forest Service lands in the past.

Greening The Economy While Centering Justice: A Case Study Of Green Business Incentives In Riverside, California, Vanessa Lincoln

Scripps Senior Theses

This applied research project proposes incentives the City of Riverside could implement to attract green businesses in a policy memo and analyzes whether these incentives are aligned with the principles of just transition. Centering on the intersection between justice and sustainability, this project examines challenges and contradictions in the promotion of sustainability initiatives and transformative environmental change through the case study of Riverside. Analyzing the incentives proposed for Riverside through the lens of justice reveals how green business incentive policies must be altered to achieve a regenerative economy, and expands upon existing green economy, business incentive, and just transition scholarships. …

The Pregnant Pause, Sarah Blissett

School of Art, Design and Architecture

No abstract provided.