Environmental Policy Commons^™

Spanning Policy Silos In Urban Development And Environmental Management: When Global Cities Are Coastal Cities Too, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

No abstract provided.

Review: The Limits Of Boundaries: Why City-Regions Cannot Be Self-Governing, By Andrew Sancton, Christopher D. Gore

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.

Valuation Of Carbon Capture And Sequestration Under Greenhouse Gas Regulations: Carbon Capture And Sequestration As An Offsetting Activity, Elizabeth Lokey

Elizabeth Lokey Aldrich

When carbon capture and sequestration is conducted by entities that are not regulated, it could be counted as an offset that is fungible in the market or sold to a voluntary market. This paper addresses the complications that arise in accounting for carbon capture and sequestration as an offset, and methodologies that exist for accounting for CCS in voluntary and compliance markets.

Environmental Justice And Roma Communities In Central And Eastern Europe, Krista Harper, Tamara Steger, Richard Filcak

Krista M. Harper

Environmental injustice and the social exclusion of Roma communities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has roots in historical patterns of ethnic exclusion and widening socioeconomic inequalities following the collapse of state socialism and the transition to multi-party parliamentary governments in 1989. In this article, we discuss some of the methodological considerations in environmental justice research, engage theoretical perspectives on environmental inequalities and social exclusion, discuss the dynamics of discrimination and environmental protection regarding the Roma in CEE, and summarize two case studies on environmental justice in Slovakia and Hungary. We argue that when some landscapes and social groups are …

Across The Bridge: Using Photovoice To Study Environment And Health In A Romani Community., Krista Harper

Krista M. Harper

This photo essay is the product of a partnership between Prof. Krista Harper, the Sajó River Association for Environment and Community Development, and community organizer Judit Bari. The project took place in a small city in northeastern Hungary hit hard by factory closings since the collapse of state socialism in 1989. The Roma community, about 20% of the town’s population, has been especially vulnerable. A team of six young people participated as photographers and discussion participants, working closely with Harper and Bari. Other community members joined discussions of the images. The team held a photo exhibition in the neighborhood where …

Valuation Of Carbon Valuation Of Carbon Capture And Sequestration Under Greenhouse Gas Regulations, Elizabeth L. Aldrich

Elizabeth Lokey Aldrich

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) could play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the future. The price associated with a metric ton of carbon dioxide reduction could help make CCS a more financially-viable technology. However, the value assigned to CCS depends on the type of greenhouse gas regulation chosen, such as a standard, greenhouse gas tax, or cap-and-trade system, and the details of how the market is implemented. This paper will cover ways in which CCS can be incorporated into greenhouse gas regulations and the implications of each of these methods. It will then cover how CCS …

Environmental History Of The Duwamish River, Jonathan Betz-Zall

Jonathan Betz-Zall

The recent history of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington, demonstrates a typical pattern of racism and class discrimination in land use policy. Historical images document the changes in land use as European-Americans took over the area and concentrated industrial activities there. GIS analysis clearly portrays the concentration of toxic sites in areas populated by poor people and people of color. Hope for future cleanups rests on community mobilization.

From Democratization To Globalization To Justice: Political Generations In Hungarian Environmentalism From The 1980s To The 2000s, Krista Harper

Krista M. Harper

This presentation applies sociologist Nancy Whittier's concept of "political generations" to explore political identities and strategies appearing over time in the Hungarian environmental movement. I discuss the rise of democratic environmentalism in the 1980s, the shift to a more professionalized and globally oriented activist stance in the 1990s, and the emergence of social justice frames associated with the newest cohort of environmental activists of the 2000s.

Garrison’ Democracy In Nigeria: The 2007 General Elections And The Prospects Of Democratic Consolidation, Shola J. Omotola

Shola J. Omotola Mr

This paper undertakes a critical analysis of the 2007 Nigeria’s general elections, with emphasis on the ‘garrison’ process and its implications for the consolidation of democracy. It is argued that garrisoned electoral processes represent a powerful source of democratic instability that can threaten the consolidation of democracy. The paper illustrates these processes and concludes that much will, however, depend on how ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ manage their successes and failures, respectively. The greatest threats to the consolidation of democracy in the aftermath of the garrisoned elections relate to the handling of post-election issues, especially election petitions, tribunals and court processes, by …

Foreign Aid, Debt Relief And Africa’S Development: Problems And Prospects, Shola J. Omotola, Hassan A. Saliu

Shola J. Omotola Mr

In recent years, the Paris club granted a number of African countries, including Nigeria, debt relief. This elicited widespread celebration in the capital cities of affected countries, where it was portrayed as averitable launch-pad to Africa’s development. This paper takes a critical look at the debt relief, with emphasis on its problems and prospects for Africa’s development. It is argued that while debt relief does offer some prospects for development, there is little or no evidence to suggest that such an outcome is automatic. The conditions that precipitated the debt crisis in the first instance, including an inequitable international economic …

The Status And Future Of Methane Destruction Projects In Mexico, Elizabeth L. Aldrich

Elizabeth Lokey Aldrich

Of the Clean Development Mechanism projects that exist in Mexico, methane destruction from hog farms dominates the landscape with 56% of the projects developed and 49% of the certified emission reductions that will be generated within the country by 2012. These biodigesters, however, have experienced many technical difficulties that place their future viability and continued development in question. Because of these challenges, future methane capture in the country may focus around other agro industries or landfills.

Barriers To Clean Development Mechanism Renewable Energy Projects In Mexico, Elizabeth L. Aldrich

Elizabeth Lokey Aldrich

Mexico is not reaching its full potential to capture benefits from clean development mechanism (CDM) projects because of its limited market for independent power producers (IPPs) and the barriers imposed on these entities by the state-run electric utility that controls most of the country’s generation and transmission. This state-run entity has pursued CDM revenues only in isolated cases where international financial assistance was given because it is bound by law to pursue the least-cost generation option for its customers. Recent changes in Mexican legislation that provide incentives for renewable energy development could open the marketplace for these types of projects.

Race, Place, And Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina: Struggles To Reclaim, Rebuild, And Revitalize New Orleans And The Gulf Coast, Robert Bullard, Beverly Wright

Robert D Bullard

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans leaving death and destruction across the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama Gulf Coast counties;The lethargic and inept emergency response that followed exposed institutional flaws, poor planning; and false assumptions that are built into the emergency response and homeland security plans and programs. Questions linger: What went wrong? Can it happen again? Is our government equipped to plan for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from natural and manmade disasters? Can the public trust government response to be fair? Does race matter? Racial disparities exist in disaster response, cleanup, rebuilding, reconstruction, and …

Fisher Management Regimes And Fisheries Governance In Floodplain Wetland Of Assam, Ganesh Chandra

Ganesh Chandra

Assam is endowed with copious aquatic wealth in the form of beels, swamps, ponds and rivers. The floodplain wetlands (beels) extending over one lakh hectare, constitute the most important fishery resource of the state. The beels are considered as one of the most productive ecosystems owing to their characteristic interactions between land and water system. These wetlands are the common property resource and under different management regimes. Livelihood of fishers’ family from time immemorial is dependent upon fishing in floodplain wetlands. Fishers include the actual fishermen belonging to the Schedule castes and the Maimal community of the district of Cachar. …

Dissent And State Excesses In The Niger Delta, Nigeria, Shola J. Omotola

Shola J. Omotola Mr

The collapse of the informal alliance between the Federal Government and ethnic minorities of the NigerDelta brought significant changes in theirmodes of power relations. The alliance had developed as a form of buffer against Igbo hegemony and domination over these minorities. The passing of a vote of no confidence on the alliance by the minorities was largely connected, then, as now, to oil and environmental politics and attendant distributive politics that place the minorities at the mercy of the government. These underscore the resort to dissent and excesses by the Niger Delta and the state, respectively. This article explores the …

Making The Case For Community-Based Laboratories, Earthea Nance

Earthea Nance

No abstract provided.

Argument Visualization In The Political Arena: The Debate On Global Climate Engineering, Michael H.G. Hoffmann

Michael H.G. Hoffmann

A map that shows a certain point in a fictitious deliberation which is supposed to be ongoing and open-ended, driven by the motive of participants to support or to criticize any of the assumptions mapped out so far by further arguments. This map is mainly based on recent publications on geo-engineering

A Note On The "Union Effect" In Vsl Studies, Philip E. Graves

PHILIP E GRAVES

Viscusi and Aldy (2003) observe that “most studies of the U.S. labor market find that union affiliation is positively correlated with a greater wage-risk tradeoff while international evidence is much more mixed.” They provide several arguments as to why the risk premium might be higher for union members (marginal versus average worker preference, the quasi-public good nature of workplace safety, and better safety information for the unionized). An alternative explanation–concentration of union membership in undesirable locations–can account for both the apparent higher risk premium in union jobs in the United States and the failure to find that gap in the …

A Photovoice Participatory Evaluation Of A School Gardening Program Through The Eyes Of Fifth Graders, Catherine Sands, Krista Harper, Lee Ellen Reed, Maggie Shar

Krista M. Harper

In the springtime, fifth grade students at the Williamsburg Elementary School in rural Western Massachusetts ask to snack on sorrel and chives from the school garden, between planting potatoes and building a shade structure for their outdoor classroom. They are members of the first cohort of the curriculum-integrated program initiated by Fertile Ground, a grassroots organization in western Massachusetts. The children’s delight in the fresh greens they have grown marks a national phenomenon: the farm-to-school movement. With limited resources, parents, teachers, students, administrators, and community activists are developing inroads to better school food and food education, by constructing school teaching …

Developing Conditions For Environmentally Sustainable Consumption: Drawing Insight From Anti-Smoking Policy, Rachel Krause

Rachel M. Krause

This paper starts from the premise that, particularly in industrialized countries, the consumption decisions made by individuals and households are a major source of environmental strain. Several international organizations and national governments have addressed this issue, but, thus far, their efforts have had minimal effect. This paper examines the conditions necessary for the implementation of policy able to effectively reduce the environmental impact of household consumption. It draws from the experience of American tobacco control, a relatively rare example of a public effort that succeeded in reducing the negative consequences of an entitled consumer behaviour.

An extensive review of the …

Environmental Challenges And Opportunities: Local-Global Perspectives On Canadian Issues, Christopher Gore, Peter Stoett

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.

Local Government Responses To Climate Change: Our Last, Best Hope?, Christopher Gore, Pamela Robinson

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.

Disasters, Lessons Learned, And Fantasy Documents, Thomas Birkland

Thomas A Birkland

This article develops a general theory of why post-disaster ‘lessons learned’ documents are often ‘fantasy documents’. The article describes the political and organizational barriers to effective learning from disasters, and builds on general theory building on learning from extreme events to explain this phenomenon. Fantasy documents are not generally about the ‘real’ causes and solutions to disasters; rather, they are generated to prove that some authoritative actor has ‘done something’ about a disaster. Because it is difficult to test whether learning happened after an extreme event, these post-disaster documents are generally ignored after they are published.

The Science And Politics Of Ecological Risk: Bioinvasions Policies In The Us And Australia., Zdravka Tzankova

Zdravka Tzankova

The US and Australia – western democracies with similar histories of public awareness on environmental issues and broadly comparable records of policy and regulatory action to safeguard environmental quality – have responded differently to one of the newest and most significant threats to marine bioidiversity: that of biological invasions mediated by the ballast water of commercial shipping. Each country has framed the same invasion risks differently for the purposes of policy and regulation: Australia has decided to use a more narrowly circumscribed, target-species-based approach whereas US policy and regulation takes a more comprehensive and precautionary approach. These somewhat surprising national …

Making The Case For Community-Based Laboratories, Earthea Nance

Earthea Nance, PhD (Stanford University, 2004)

No abstract provided.

A Photovoice Participatory Evaluation Of A School Gardening Program Through The Eyes Of Fifth Graders, Catherine Sands, Krista Harper, Lee Ellen Reed, Maggie Shar

Catherine Sands

In the springtime, fifth grade students at the Williamsburg Elementary School in rural Western Massachusetts ask to snack on sorrel and chives from the school garden, between planting potatoes and building a shade structure for their outdoor classroom. They are members of the first cohort of the curriculum-integrated program initiated by Fertile Ground, a grassroots organization in western Massachusetts. The children’s delight in the fresh greens they have grown marks a national phenomenon: the farm-to-school movement. With limited resources, parents, teachers, students, administrators, and community activists are developing inroads to better school food and food education, by constructing school teaching …

Responding To Risk: The Making Of Hazard Mitigation Strategy In Post-Katrina New Orleans, Earthea Nance

Earthea Nance, PhD (Stanford University, 2004)

No abstract provided.