Failed Promises

Failed Promises

Author: David M. Konisky

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2015-03-27

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 0262527359

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A systematic evaluation of the implementation of the federal government's environmental justice policies. In the 1970s and 1980s, the U.S. Congress passed a series of laws that were milestones in environmental protection, including the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. But by the 1990s, it was clear that environmental benefits were not evenly distributed and that poor and minority communities bore disproportionate environmental burdens. The Clinton administration put these concerns on the environmental policy agenda, most notably with a 1994 executive order that called on federal agencies to consider environmental justice issues whenever appropriate. This volume offers the first systematic, empirically based evaluation of the effectiveness of the federal government's environmental justice policies. The contributors consider three overlapping aspects of environmental justice: distributive justice, or the equitable distribution of environmental burdens and benefits; procedural justice, or the fairness of the decision-making process itself; and corrective justice, or the fairness of punishment and compensation. Focusing on the central role of the Environmental Protection Agency, they discuss such topics as facility permitting, rulemaking, participatory processes, bias in enforcement, and the role of the courts in redressing environmental injustices. Taken together, the contributions suggest that—despite recent environmental justice initiatives from the Obama administration—the federal government has largely failed to deliver on its promises of environmental justice. Contributors Dorothy M. Daley, Eileen Gauna, Elizabeth Gross, David M. Konisky, Douglas S. Noonan, Tony G. Reames, Christopher Reenock, Ronald J. Shadbegian, Paul Stretesky, Ann Wolverton


New Principles in Planning Evaluation

New Principles in Planning Evaluation

Author: Abdul Khakee

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-12-05

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 135191474X

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This book provides recently developed and tested methods for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of planning and policy options. Several contributions focus on new substantive areas of concern in planning evaluation, including environmental justice and sustainable urban development. Applications of evaluation in several planning contexts are demonstrated, and special problems that these pose are assessed. Several chapters address how to communicate the process and results to several stakeholder groups, and how to engage these groups in the evaluation process. Each chapter employs a real-world case in practice, thus dealing with the complexity of applying planning evaluation, and providing practical advice useful in similar situations.


Pipeline Politics

Pipeline Politics

Author: Madelon L. Finkel

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2018-09-14

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1440861862

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An essential review of the history, benefits, limitations, failures, and politics of pipelines, with a core focus on potential harms to environmental and human health. The United States holds the world record of having the largest network of energy pipelines, with more than 2.4 million miles of pipeline transporting oil or natural gas. Russia, China, and Canada as well as many other countries also have extensive pipelines. How safe is this means of transport, and is there a potential harm to the environment and human health? In this text, professor Madelon L. Finkel presents an essential and clearly-stated review of the pros and cons of transporting oil and natural gas by pipeline. Finkel dispels myths, inaccuracies, and misconceptions and highlights the potential dangers that must be considered in any country's energy policy. Pipeline Politics: Assessing the Benefits and Harms of Energy Policy provides a broad and accessible analysis of pipelines, from their history and safety to their politics and risks. Finkel examines the benefits and costs of pipelines in parallel as well as issues of environmental justice; the fairness of treatment of the people affected; and the development, implementation, and enforcement of pipeline laws, regulations, and policies.


Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere

Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere

Author: Robert Cox

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1412972116

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Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere is the first comprehensive undergraduate textbook in the growing field of environmental communication. It takes as its theme the role of communication in influencing the ways in which we perceive the environment as well as what actions we and others take in our relations to the natural world. The text blends scholarship and hands-on experiences to provide a theory-based and coherent description of the concrete communication practices and sites in the debates over environment protection. Additional theory and vocabulary are introduced, as are case studies and examples for closer examination of the principal sites and practices of environmental communication - including forums for public participation, advocacy campaigns, media coverage of environmental stories, risk communication, and models of dispute settlement. This accessible book: • Summarizes current scholarship in the area and makes accessible many of the practices of media, corporations, and advocacy groups that are not readily available in public sources. • Gives students insight into the practical ways to participate publicly in influencing the decisions of governmental agencies that affect the environment. • Offers a comprehensible treatment of the complexity and range of issues, sites, and practices in environmental communication. • Includes "Act Locally" exercises, which provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge of the principles of environmental communication


Alternative Pathways in Science and Industry

Alternative Pathways in Science and Industry

Author: David J. Hess

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2007-03-16

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 0262263149

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In Alternative Pathways in Science and Industry, David Hess examines how social movements and other forms of activism affect innovation in science, technology, and industry. Synthesizing and extending work in social studies of science and technology, social movements, and globalization, Hess explores the interaction of grassroots environmental action and mainstream industry and offers a conceptual framework for understanding it. Hess proposes a theory of scientific and technological change that considers the roles that both industry and grassroots consumers play in setting the research agenda in science and technology, and he identifies "alternative pathways" by which social movements can influence scientific and technological innovation. He analyzes four of these pathways: industrial opposition movements, organized against targeted technologies (as in the campaign against nuclear energy); technology- and product-oriented movements, which press for alternatives (as does the organic food movement); localism, which promotes local ownership (as in "buy-local" campaigns); and access pathways, which support a more equitable distribution of resources. Within each pathway, Hess examines reforms in five different areas: agriculture, energy, waste and manufacturing, infrastructure, and finance. The book's theoretical argument and empirical evidence demonstrate the complex pattern of incorporation (of grassroots innovations) and transformation (of alternative ownership structures and the alternative products themselves) that has characterized the relationship of industry and activism. Hess's analysis of alternative pathways to change suggests ways economic organizations could shift to a more just and sustainable course in the twenty-first century.