Environmental Studies Commons^™

Review Of Climate Security, Elsa Barron

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Environment In Conflict: Implications And Pathways, Hogr Tarkhani

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of: Deep Transformations: A Theory Of Degrowth, Daina Cheyenne Harvey

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Dalit And Tribal Women As Ecological Victims, Dhinakaran Savariyar

The Journal of Social Encounters

The essay examines the ecological marginalization of Dalit and tribal women in India, especially by analysing the three points of intersection, namely, caste, patriarchy, and gender. Though it starts with a global outlook on the African water crisis, it substantiates the argument with Indian realities of water inequality and resource depletion. While showing caste as the root cause of water discrimination in the country, it exposes the abetting roles of patriarchy and gender in keeping the Dalit and tribal women at the lowest position in the Indian social fabric. Environmental casteism and exclusion from decision-making processes add to the invisibility …

Repurposing Old Railways To Enhance Recreation And Ecological Services, Carter Versaevel

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

We are currently facing what can only be described as a biodiversity crisis. Species are disappearing faster than ever before, largely due to habitat fragmentation caused by humans. How can old railroads be repurposed into recreational trails that can also help improve biodiversity and ecological function? By turning old derelict tracks into “green trails,” these tracks can be given new life and help reverse the effects of fragmentation, while providing recreational services to nearby communities.

Railroads And Recreation In Minnesota, Carter Versaevel

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This map shows outdoor recreation areas along with the most populated cities and all railroads in Minnesota. I wanted to find out what areas were most in need of outdoor recreation opportunities and how to provide those opportunities. I found that railroads and high population cities were concentrated together. These areas had little access to outdoor recreation. These railroads can be turned into trails to provide much-needed recreation to a large number of people. I created this map using data I acquired through a formal request to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. I used the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ …

Exploring Variability Factors In Bur Oak Morphology, Karyn Morrissey

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This project, completed for Dr. Kate Cary in the Biology department, investigates how bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) leaf morphology varies geographically. Using digitized herbarium specimens and provided data which included latitude, longitude, collection moth and year, leaf dissection, petiole length, temperature, and precipitation, the project visualizes patterns in morphology with a focus on leaf dissection (cm). Maps were generated both at the state level (Minnesota) and national level, depicting bur oak locations and morphology trends across different seasons (January-May and June-December) over the past century.  The importance of this data lies in its ability to reveal how environmental factors like …

Fish Need Shelter Too! The Importance Of Mangroves In An Aquatic Ecosystem, Karyn Morrissey

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Mangrove trees exhibit many adaptations to living in salt water and tend to be found along marine shores. Some of these features include the ability to have their roots constantly submerged in water and stilt roots. Stilt roots are not true roots, instead they grow from the stem to the ground and provide both height and mechanical support in a somewhat fluid soil that the plants grow in. These stilt roots are thought to provide sanctuary for many juvenile fish. During our time on San Salvador Island, Bahamas (March 2025), we hypothesized that there was a relationship between distribution of …

Peter Maurin As The New St. Benedict: A Review Essay, William J. Collinge

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Toward Integral Security: How Environmental Protection Was Incorporated Into The United Nations System And Why It Matters Today And Tomorrow, Patricia M. Mische

The Journal of Social Encounters

How did the United Nations - an international organization built on 19^th century worldviews and state-centric structures, integrate 21^st century challenges of environmental protection into its mission and programs? The UN Charter includes no mandate for environmental protection. Ecological integrity was not included in the scope of peace and security held by member states when they ratified the UN Charter. Yet, despite this and other historical, philosophical and structural limitations, the UN became the leading body for the development of global environmental policy.

Native Organizations Fill Gaps In Federal Support For Tribal Renewable Energy, Healing Native Communities, Corrie Grosse, Dawn D. Davis, Robert Blake, Chéri Smith

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of Thoman Merton’S Tree Of Life: The Growth Of A Radical Ecologist, Paul Pynkoski

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Radical Utu: Critical Ideas And Ideals Of Wangari Muta Maathai, Wanjiru G. Mbure

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Monastic Ecological Wisdom: A Living Tradition, Katherine Howard

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Cosmic Partnership: Hildegard Of Bingen’S Vision Of An Integral Ecology, Almut Furchert

The Journal of Social Encounters

Though Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), Benedictine Abbess and polymath, canonized and proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 2012, has been named a patron of ecology, only fragments of her ecological philosophy exist. This article attempts to introduce Hildegard’s polyphonic work by outlining her theology of viriditas as the green thread that connects her cosmological, anthropological, and ethical theory and to show how it constructs the relationship between humanity and creation as a cosmic partnership. Hildegard's striking visual style is not only inspired by her appreciation of the natural world, but deeply grounded in her theology. This theology entails an ethical …

Rights Of Nature: The Indigenous-Led Movement For Sovereignty And A Sustainable Future, Kathryn Schug, Ted Gordon

The Journal of Social Encounters

The rights of nature movement works to grant legal rights to beings other than humans. Led by Indigenous communities across the globe, the movement is grounded in commonly shared Indigenous beliefs that regard non-human beings as are our relatives and as deserving of the same legal rights as humans. Grounded in Indigenous worldviews, the rights of nature movement pursues the twin goals of creating an environmentally sustainable future and enshrining legal protections for Indigenous values and practices. This article explores how the White Earth Nation, a federally recognized Ojibwe tribal government in Minnesota became the first in the United States …

Effects Of Climate Change On Women’S Security Dynamics In Baragoi, Samburu County, Kenya, Rehema Zaid Obuyi

The Journal of Social Encounters

The paper unearths how climate change influences women’s security dynamics in fragile and conflict-affected contexts in Baragoi Samburu County Kenya. It provides an opportunity to rethink security. Security responses must be at par with evolving security underlying forces. One of the precursors is that individuals and groups that were traditionally excluded from combat both as participants and targets such as women and children have now become prime targets. This demands a shift in strategy by not only focusing on traditional threats but also getting more specific linking our approaches to gendered non-traditional security threats. Alternative soft power approaches to addressing …

Gold Mining In Darfur: Its Role In The General Economy, Political Conflicts And The Current War, Raphaëlle Chevrillon-Guibert, Enrico Ille, Mohamed Salah Abdelrahman

The Journal of Social Encounters

Darfur has been shattered by a long chain of violent escalations, and numerous interpretations of reasons and recommendations for solutions have been put forward. Since the early 2010s, gold mining appeared as an additional element in ongoing conflicts and became a dominant aspect, not just as one of the financial pillars of the upcoming Rapid Support Forces under Dagalo family leadership, but also as a source of environmental pollution. Nevertheless, gold mining made its way only slowly into political analyses, and although its substantial role in Sudan's recent history, including the current war, has now more often been recognized, it …

Book Discussion "The War Below: Lithium, Copper, And The Global Battle To Power Our Lives"

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Ecomartyrdom In The Americas: Living And Dying For Our Common Home, Caesar A. Montevecchio

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Intersectional Environmentalist: How To Dismantle Systems Of Oppression To Protect People + Planet, Raymond Appiah

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Cli-Fi And Class: Socioeconomic Justice In Contemporary American Climate Fiction, Kyhl Lyndgaard

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Water Management And Violent Conflict In East Africa: Scarcity And Security In Kenya And Uganda, Ken Conca

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

A Short Supplemental Reading List For The Environment: Issues In Justice, Conflict And Peacebuilding, Ronald Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

The Un Security Council In Conflict: How Does The Protection Of The Environment Related To Armed Conflict Fit Into Its Structural And Inequal Dynamics?, Gabriel Lagrange

The Journal of Social Encounters

Recent conflicts have emphasized the multidirectional linkages between the environment and conflicts and therefore peace and security. As the organ responsible for international peace and security issues, the UN Security Council has the mandate to tackle the environment- conflicts nexus. Although it has delivered several resolutions on a case-by-case basis, the UN Security Council has never included environmental protection through a thematic resolution. Such a resolution is crucial due to the current ecological crisis while the binding nature and implementation capacities of the Council would tangibly improve the current political and legal framework protecting the environment. Yet, obstacles resulting from …

Eco-Virtue Ethics And Anthropological Commitments Of Laudato Si’ And Laudate Deum: Towards A Renewed Integral Ecology, Ugochukwu Stophynus Anyanwu

The Journal of Social Encounters

The Fourth Chapter of Laudato Si’ (LS) of Pope Francis deals with the theme of ‘Integral Ecology’ from a religious tradition. This chapter can be interpreted as the fulcrum of the encyclical because of the density of its anthropological and ethical considerations. The theme of this chapter has informed a more emphatic presentation in the apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum (LD) on the climatic challenges confronting humanity. Both documents, with incomparable courage and novelty, offer enriching ethical discourses for advancing social, cultural, and human ecology in consonance with social justice, common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity. They contain the magisterial appeal that …

Guns, Bombs, And Pollution: Unraveling The Nexus Between Warfare, Terrorism, And Ecological Devastation In Iraq, Hogr Tarkhani

The Journal of Social Encounters

Iraq's environment has experienced significant pollution and degradation, earning it the dubious distinction of being one of the most polluted and degraded regions globally, according to the Globe Pollution Review. The past three decades of armed conflict have exacted a heavy toll on the country, resulting in widespread human suffering, including countless fatalities, injuries, and a massive displacement of people. Amidst this death and destruction, the ecosystem has also endured severe damage, and its decline carries long-lasting implications.

The environmental crisis in Iraq has been worsened by the presence of extremist groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS) and various …

On Dialogue And Beyond: Positive Environmental Peacebuilding In Palestine, Elsa Barron

The Journal of Social Encounters

In Palestine, environmental management has been used as a tool of military occupation and oppression. Yet even within that context, many community-based organizations have established programs relating to environmental peacebuilding. Of these initiatives, environmental dialogue programs have received significant attention and resources, even more so since the war in Gaza began in October, 2023. However, a deeper interrogation of these programs reveals the danger that dialogue and collaboration devoid of a critical analysis of power and injustice further perpetuates systemic oppression. Moving these programs into the realm of positive environmental peacebuilding requires a willingness to engage in this structural analysis. …

Islam And The Environment, Jon Armajani

The Journal of Social Encounters

This is a transcript of a presentation at the Thirty-Fourth Annual Peace Studies Conference at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University on September 18, 2023. The presentation provides (1) some background information about Islam; (2) related ideas about Christianity; (3) a discussion of some verses in the Quran, which relate to the environment, and some Islamic interpretations of them; (4) an analysis of Ibrahim Abdul-Matin’s ideas on Islam and the environment; and (5) a tribute to Father Rene McGraw, OSB.

Benedictine Life And Care For The Environment, John Klassen O.S.B.

The Journal of Social Encounters

In this presentation I want to show in simple terms how monastic life provides spiritual practices for our community to live the Gospel in a way that is responsive and respectful to the environment. Consequently, I organize my presentation around four words or phrases from the Rule of Benedict (RB). The first one is the community of goods. The second is stability. Thethird is frugality, and the fourth is a contemplative stance. These four words or phrases provide the frame for this presentation and are central to spirituality of the Rule of Saint Benedict.