Digital Commons Network^™

Sybil Unrest By Larissa Lai And Rita Wong, Emily Mcgiffin

The Goose

Review of Sybil Unrest by Larissa Lai and Rita Wong.

The Failure Of Environmental International Law During Times Of War, Blake Lara

University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development

Throughout history, war and armed conflict have maintained a continuous presence around the world. Though the reasons for war change, various nations emerge and subside, and populations alter, one of the constant elements of war is its degrading effect on the environment. In addition to indirect effects on the environment that ultimately result from war, nations have used the environment as both a weapon and target of war. For example, during the Peloponnesian War, the Spartans salted Athenian lands to make them infertile. In the Franco-Dutch War from 1672 to 1678, dikes and damns were destroyed in order to create …

Craig Santos Perez: Poetry As Strategy Against Military Occupation In Guåhan (Guam), Robert John Briggs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is interested in hearing the voices seldom heard. It looks at the poetry of Craig Santos Perez, a native Chamorro from Guam, in an attempt to begin puzzling out the idea of transformation in Guam and the military's complicity in the process. While erasure seems to be trending and emerging as a term that would, on the surface, adequately bring attention to the loss of culture, land, and language in Guam, it has the tendency to overshadow and ignore the varying degrees that Guam has changed in the presence of military rule. Other forms of transformation include, but …

Art In The Public Realm And The Politics Of Rural Leisure: Access And Environment, Alex Murdin

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Exploring both political aesthetics and the politics of aesthetics to outline an environmental ruralism for art in public spaces, this practice lead research project postulates a “complemental practice”, outlining its methodology and contexts for operation, the rural, spaces of leisure and the public realm. It is a response to threats to spatial and environmental commons from heritage, place-making and nostalgia, psychological inhibition such as a sense of global contingency and widespread economic exploitation. Responses by artists to this situation can be characterised as a binary of dialogism (Kester, 2004) and relational antagonism (Bishop, 2004), i.e. consensual/collaborative or antagonistic/autonomous practices. Informing …

Soil Arsenic And Lead Concentrations And Preterm Birth: Investigating Racial Disparities, Sources, Neighborhood Effects, And Spatial Patterns, Pamela Harley Thornton Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Preterm birth, generally defined as birth at <37 weeks of gestation, is an important public health issue that has multiple risk factors related to characteristics of both the mother and her environment. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine potential sources of spatially interpolated (kriged) environmental concentrations of arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) in residential soils and preterm birth in a Medicaid population of mothers giving birth in South Carolina (SC) from 1996-2001. The first objective was to investigate if a racial disparity existed for estimated soil As and Pb concentrations, after adjusting for proximal and distal sources of these metals (including distance and direction to industrial facilities) in a subset of SC Medicaid mothers living in areas of SC where soil samples were collected and analyzed for these metals. The second objective was to test the hypothesis that estimated soil As and Pb concentrations were associated with increased odds of early (<34 weeks) and late (34-36 weeks) preterm births in the same subset of SC Medicaid mothers, after adjusting for individual and neighborhood level risk factors, and examine if measure of neighborhood deprivation and racial residential segregation modified these associations. The third objective was to examine if early and all preterm births, aggregated at the county level, varied spatially and/or temporally in SC for all Medicaid mothers giving birth from 1996-2001 in Bayesian models.

For the first objective, black mothers had significantly higher estimated As and Pb soil concentrations than white mothers in the study population (adjusted betas were 0.12 and 0.22 for As and Pb, respectively; all p<0.006), and proximal sources of metals (e.g., percent of Census block group are covered by roads) were more strongly associated with estimated soil As and Pb concentrations than composite As and Pb releases from industrial facilities categorized by distance from and direction to Census block groups in which maternal residences were located.

For the second objective, estimated soil concentration of neither As nor Pb were associated with increased odds of early or late preterm birth after adjusting for maternal and neighborhood level risk factors. Only individual level covariates were associated with these birth outcomes, and associations were stronger for early as compared to late preterm births. Neighborhood deprivation and racial …

The Executive And The Environment: A Look At The Last Five Governors In New York, Patricia E. Salkin

Pace Environmental Law Review

Gubernatorial leadership is the single most important indicator of how sustainable New York will be when it comes to issues of environmental protection and conservation. In preparing for the Kerlin Lecture, one of the things that struck me is that New York governors for at least the last thirty years have consistently identified the critical economic, social, and environmental challenges facing this state. Is it simply political rhetoric to decry that the state is in terrible fiscal shape, that programs need to be funded to help those is need, and that we must pay attention to stewarding the environment today …

Human Dependence On Nature: How To Help Solve The Environmental Crisis By Haydn Washington, Lorelei Hanson

The Goose

Review of Human Dependence on Nature: How to Help Solve the Environmental Crisis by Haydn Washington.

Urban Agriculture: An Environmental And Moral Imperative, Bridgit Hohlfeld

Geography and Planning

As we live in a society completely dependent on oil and its products, the contradictions within this self destructive system begin to unfold. Petroleum, its acquisition, and the products created with it, have been proven to cause unmanageable effects on a worldwide scale. As our natural resources become more finite, contributing to global and local inequities through widespread competition, the need for change is apparent. By introducing local farming initiatives, the creation, distribution, and usage of these products becomes obsolete through the elimination of demand and necessity. Sustainable urban agriculture is therefore presented as a tangible solution to the problem …

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 …

An Intersectional Approach To Environmental Political Theory: A Case Study On Modern Andean Bolivian Indigenous Forms Of Resistance And Communal Democracy In Relation To Water Rights, Julia E. Seward

Scripps Senior Theses

Considers Bolivian Andean indigenous forms of democracy and resistance to neoliberal water privatization in Cochabamba. Incorporates environmental identity into the intersectional theoretical framework with principles rooted in Indigenous grass roots theory, Marxist critiques on capitalism, Latin American Neomarxist scholars, and Environmental Justice. Focuses on intersections of ethnicity, gender and class identities with environmental identity to understand the extent to which environmental injustices cannot be addressed in isolation from other sources of inequality.

Ethnicity And Environmental Values, Jose Ignacio Ochoa

Student Theses and Dissertations

Literature on minority environmentalism has focused on African-Americans and white respondents and their environmental policy preferences. Early studies suggested that whites held more pro-environmental opinions than African-Americans. Revised studies have found that minority respondents have more pro-environmental opinions than white respondents. I intend to add to this literature, while also controlling for respondents' attitudes toward government intervention. I test the hypothesis that minority respondents hold more pro-environmental opinions than whites. I also test the hypothesis that respondents who favor more government intervention hold more pro-environmental opinions than respondents who favor less government intervention. Using the 2010 General Social Survey I …

Extending A Geographic Lens Towards Climate Justice, Part 1: Climate Change Characterization And Impacts, Morey Burnham, Claudia Radel, Zhao Ma, Ann Laudati

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

There has been a recent increase of interest within the academic literature on the justice issues posed by climate change and the human responses to its present and forecasted effects. This literature is partially shaped by debates from environmental justice scholarship, but also has roots in various subfields of geography. In two parts (here and in a subsequent article), we review and synthesize the recent literature by asking what climate justice concerns have been identified within three related realms: 1) the characterization of climate change itself and the assignment of responsibility for that change; 2) the differential or uneven impacts …

Yielding To The Octopus An Environmental History Of Agriculture, Imperialism, And Landlessness In Guatemala, Sophia Zimmerman

Theses & ETDs

Guatemala is home to some of the most diverse and ecologically significant ecosystems in Central America. Recently, the degrading rainforests and dramatic biodiversity loss has received attention from foreign conservation programs. These circumstances are complex and the stakeholder relationships, whether ecological or human, are often extremely vulnerable. Guatemala's colonial and liberal history, analyzed from an ecological perspective, illuminates aspects of the country's development and produce a more holistic understanding of current political, social, as well as environmental circumstances. Specific aspects of the country's development, such as the role of agriculture, private industry, and land dispossession, are vital to addressing these …

Green Harms Of Green Projects, John Copeland Nagle

Journal Articles

This article describes the recent development of renewable energy to examine environmental law’s three contrasting approaches to the green harms of green projects. Sometimes the law allows the green benefit regardless of the green harm. Sometimes the law prohibits the green harm regardless of the green benefit. And sometimes the law allows a balancing of all of the harms and benefits, green or not. Given these options, I argue that the law should not ignore or understate green harms even if they are caused by green projects. There are some types of green harms that no benefit can justify. But …

Rural Communities: How Do Individuals Perceive Change When Industry Enters The Area?, Katherine Danielle Ferrari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the landscape of the United States changes and world resources face depletion, shale gas development has become a major social justice issue. Social workers may be called upon to help support communities undergoing change from industry as well as the environmental and social justice concerns that are arising in areas with rich natural resource supplies.

This research examines how a rural population perceives change when industry enters an area. It explores community change and social justice concerns that are occurring with shale gas development in order to help determine implications for social work practice.

Using a phenomenological approach, this …

“Offsetting” Crisis? - Climate Change Cap-And-Trade Need Not Contribute To Another Financial Meltdown , Victor B, Flatt

Pepperdine Law Review

In 2009, the promise of a comprehensive federal cap and trade bill to address climate change fell apart. At least in part, this was due to the fears that exotic 'carbon' financial instruments might cause more financial crises. As California launches it economy wide carbon trading system, and other regional systems and the even possibly the EPA consider cap and trade, it is important to revisit what, if anything, about carbon denominated financial instruments might lead to financial market problems. The most problematic of the instruments, offsets, can be designed to lessen financial risk from underlying asset failure.

Mother Nature And The Heavenly Father: Christianity And The Environment In A Globalized World, Wouter Hammink

Macalester International

No abstract provided.

Environmental Critiques Of Nuclear Energy, William Hummel

Pomona Senior Theses

This essay identifies and evaluates the most common environmental critiques made against nuclear energy development. Environmentalists articulate four major concerns: the destructive effects and health risks of uranium mining; the dangers posed by radiation releases and meltdowns; the difficult of nuclear waste disposal; and national security concerns, including nuclear weapons proliferation and the possibility of attack or sabotage. By characterizing and describing these concerns, we are better able to decide which problems are most compelling, and suggest possible policy-driven solutions.

Hiding, Hunting, And Habitat: An Environmental Re-Analysis Of The Slave Narratives, Martha Wharry Turner

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis conducts an environmental analysis of narratives written or dictated by fugitive American slaves in the early to mid-nineteenth century. It re-examines previously studied information from a different perspective—one that incorporates people’s interaction with their surrounding natural environments, both cultivated and uncultivated—which reveals new information and leads to some new potential conclusions. Specifically, this reanalysis of the slave narratives shows that the rural enslaved population of the antebellum South had an intimate and cooperative relationship with the natural world, one that enabled them to develop critical skills that maximized their chances of successfully escaping slavery permanently. Further, the southern …

Ecowomanist Endeavors: Race, Gender, And Environmental Ethics In Contemporary Caribbean Women's Literature, Debbie-Ann C. Morrison

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation examines the intersections of gender, sexuality, community, landscape, ecology, and social justice as they appear in selected literary texts by contemporary Caribbean women writers. Beginning with an awareness of the various ecological crises enveloping the Caribbean as well as a firm belief that an analysis of literature might reveal inherent values regarding ecological sustainability and the need for propagating environmentally ethical practices throughout the region, the project uses Alice Walker’s notion of womanism to craft what it calls an “ecologically womanist” reading of texts by Lorna Goodison, Olive Senior, Jamaica Kincaid, Mayra Montero, Dionne Brand, and Pauline Melville. …

The Aclu And The Propriety Of Dispute Resolution In Civil Rights Controversies, Amber Mckinney

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Section I examines the history, purpose, and methodology of the American Civil Liberties Union. Section II discusses the historical development and use of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Section III, Part A provides examples of its use in environmental controversies, Americans with Disabilities Act disputes, and employment conflicts. Section III, Part B explains the arguments for and against the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Civil Rights Controversies. Section IV, Part A looks at examples of the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution by the American Civil Liberties Union, while Part B provides insight into the interplay of Alternative Dispute Resolution and the …

Environmental Toxins And Depression In An American Indian Community, Gayle Skawennio Morse, Glen Duncan, Carolyn Noonan, Eva Garroutte, Azara Santiago-Rivera, David O. Carpenter, Alice Tarbell

Journal of Indigenous Research

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a public health problem affecting many minority communities. We examined relationships between PCBs and depression among 306 adults on the Akwesasne Reservation (68% females; 18-79 years) exposed to PCBs through industrial contamination. Blood was collected to measure total PCB levels, which also were categorized based on level of chlorination and dioxin-like structure. The Center for Epidemiology Studies of Depression (CES-D) scale scores increased as terciles of measured PCB blood level increased, though increases were not significant (p>0.05). While there are documented health effects of PCBs, these results, consistent with one previous study, demonstrate depression …

Fostering Critical Thinking About Climate Change: Applying Community Psychology To An Environmental Education Project With Youth, Livia D. Dittmer, Manuel Riemer

Centre for Community Research Learning and Action

This article argues for the participation of community psychology in issues of global climate change. The knowledge accumulated and experience gained in the discipline of community psychology have great relevance to many topics related to the environment. Practitioners of community psychology could therefore make significant contributions to climate change mitigation. To illustrate this assertion, we describe an education project conducted with youth engaged in a community-based environmental organization. This initiative was motivated by the idea that engaged and critically aware youth often become change agents for social movements. Towards this purpose, rather than using mass marketing strategies to motivate small …

God, Politics And The Environment: Religious Affiliation And Voting Patterns By Congress On Environmental Legislation, 1970-2010., Taylor Clayton, Billy Cole, Paul Henderson

Global Tides

Every year members of Congress vote on numerous bills that will have an impact on the vitality of our environment. But what factors, if any, contribute to the way in which Members of the House vote on environmental legislation? In this paper, we postulate that religion has a large role in influencing the voting habits of Representatives. In order to test for religion’s impact, we examined the roll call voting of Members of the House of Representatives spread over nine years from 1970-2010. We find that self- identified religious affiliation is an independently important factor in determining voting patterns of …

Planetarian Identity Formation And The Relocalization Of Environmental Law, Sarah Krakoff

Publications

Local food, local work, local energy production--all are hallmarks of a resurgence of localism throughout contemporary environmental thought and action. The renaissance of localism might be seen as a retreat from the world's global environmental problems. This Article maintains, however, that some forms of localism are actually expressions, appropriate ones, of a planetary environmental consciousness. This Article's centerpiece is an in-depth evaluation of local climate action initiatives, including interviews with participants, as well as other data and observations about their ethics, attitudes, behaviors, and motivations. The values and identities being forged in these initiatives form the basis for timely conceptions …

The Quiet Revolution And Federalism: Into The Future, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

This Article offers an examination of the federal role in land use planning and regulation set in the context of varying theories of federalism by presenting a historical and modern overview of the increasing federal influence in local land use planning and regulation, specifically highlighting how federal statutes and programs impact local municipal decision making in the area of land use planning. Part II provides a brief introduction into theories of federalism and their application to local land use regulation in the United States. Part III provides a brief overview of federal legislation in the United States which affected local …

Health Worker Experiences With Environmental Pollution : Health In Urban Targeted Community : A Study Of Pollution And Clinicians' Experiences And Attitudes Towards It In Urban Low-Income Communities And Communities Of Color, Leslie B. Bosworth

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Research suggests that exposure to pollution can impact people's health, and that there are more chances for exposure in some urban low-income communities or communities of color. The purpose of the study is to explore whether social service oriented clinicians consider whether their clients are exposed to pollution, how large of a problem the believe pollution is for their clients, and what actions they and their clients have taken to protect against pollution. A second purpose is to assess whether clinicians view pollution as product of discrimination. A third purpose is to see if pollution is indeed higher in lower-income …

Capturing Individual Harms, Katrina Fischer Kuh

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The aggregated lifestyles and behaviors of individuals impose significant environmental harms yet remain largely unregulated. A growing literature recognizes the environmental significance of individual behaviors, critiques the failure of environmental law and policy to capture harms traceable to individual behaviors, and suggests and evaluates strategies for capturing individual harms going forward. This Article contributes to the existing literature by approaching the problem of environmentally significant individual harms through the lens of environmental federalism. Using climate change and individual greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions as an exemplar, the Article illustrates how local information, local governments, and local implementation can enhance policies designed …

A History Of Resilience Is A History Of Resistance, Melissa Ooten

Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Faculty Publications

As an historian, I’m struck by the emphasis this documentary places on non-humans – be it animals, plants, soil, or mountains – although as a native of Appalachia, that doesn’t surprise me. The film is billed as “America’s first environmental history series: and as such, it gives us a bold, unique template of how to talk holistically about the concept of place and the specific place of Appalachia. While it may be particularly prescient to talk about the broader concept of place through ecology and other facets when analyzing the history of Appalachia, surely it is no less important when …

Environmental Documentary Film: A Contemporary Tool For Social Movement, Rachel Gregg

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Building a 21st century movement capable of inspiring social and structural change requires creative education, resourceful collaboration, and civic engagement. The U.S. environmental movement is in need of strategies that bring a wide spectrum of people together, facilitate appropriate interpretation of problems, and prompt innovative, forward-thinking solutions. Environmental documentary film has the ability to dramatize the reality of environmental issues and empower audiences to become an active part of the change necessary to address environmental crises. Utilizing a specific genre of environmental documentary film in novel and inventive ways, people can be gathered, educated, and inspired to become active participants …