Avner de-Shalit
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199240388
- eISBN:
- 9780191599033
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199240388.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
When constructing environmental policies in democratic regimes, there is a need for a theory that can be used not only by academics but also by politicians and activists. So why has the major part of ...
More
When constructing environmental policies in democratic regimes, there is a need for a theory that can be used not only by academics but also by politicians and activists. So why has the major part of environmental ethics failed to penetrate environmental policy and serve as its rationale? Obviously, there is a gap between the questions that environmental philosophers discuss and the issues that motivate environmental activists. Avner de‐Shalit attempts to bridge this gap by combining tools of political philosophy with questions of environmental ethics and environmental politics. He defends a radical position in relation to both environmental protection and social policies, in order to put forward a political theory, which is not only philosophically sound, but also relevant to the practice of environmental activism. The author argues that several directions in environmental ethics can be at odds with the contemporary political debates surrounding environmental politics. He then goes on to examine the environmental scope of liberalism, communitarianism, participatory democracy, and socialism, and concludes that while elements of liberalism and communitarianism may support environmental protection, it is participatory democracy and a modified version of socialism that are crucial for protecting the environment.Less
When constructing environmental policies in democratic regimes, there is a need for a theory that can be used not only by academics but also by politicians and activists. So why has the major part of environmental ethics failed to penetrate environmental policy and serve as its rationale? Obviously, there is a gap between the questions that environmental philosophers discuss and the issues that motivate environmental activists. Avner de‐Shalit attempts to bridge this gap by combining tools of political philosophy with questions of environmental ethics and environmental politics. He defends a radical position in relation to both environmental protection and social policies, in order to put forward a political theory, which is not only philosophically sound, but also relevant to the practice of environmental activism. The author argues that several directions in environmental ethics can be at odds with the contemporary political debates surrounding environmental politics. He then goes on to examine the environmental scope of liberalism, communitarianism, participatory democracy, and socialism, and concludes that while elements of liberalism and communitarianism may support environmental protection, it is participatory democracy and a modified version of socialism that are crucial for protecting the environment.
Maria Kousis
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199252060
- eISBN:
- 9780191601064
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199252068.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Analysis of 579 environmental protest events in Greece, reported in Eleftherotypia during 1988–97, showed an uneven decline of protest during the decade, an overrepresentation of urban environmental ...
More
Analysis of 579 environmental protest events in Greece, reported in Eleftherotypia during 1988–97, showed an uneven decline of protest during the decade, an overrepresentation of urban environmental claims, and the prominence of nature conservation, pollution, urban, and industrial claims made by both formal and informal environmental groups. Claims involving the health effects of environmental degradation declined, due to a steeper reduction in the reported incidence of grassroots environmental activism. In general, there was limited variation in the tactics used, with conventional protest predominating, followed by confrontation and demonstrations, and rarely by violence. Community activists tended to opt more often for confrontational or violent actions than did formal NGOs. The observed patterns are influenced by the changing political and economic opportunity structure associated with economic liberalization, the pattern of newspaper coverage, and the organization of social space.Less
Analysis of 579 environmental protest events in Greece, reported in Eleftherotypia during 1988–97, showed an uneven decline of protest during the decade, an overrepresentation of urban environmental claims, and the prominence of nature conservation, pollution, urban, and industrial claims made by both formal and informal environmental groups. Claims involving the health effects of environmental degradation declined, due to a steeper reduction in the reported incidence of grassroots environmental activism. In general, there was limited variation in the tactics used, with conventional protest predominating, followed by confrontation and demonstrations, and rarely by violence. Community activists tended to opt more often for confrontational or violent actions than did formal NGOs. The observed patterns are influenced by the changing political and economic opportunity structure associated with economic liberalization, the pattern of newspaper coverage, and the organization of social space.
Ion Bogdan Vasi
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199746927
- eISBN:
- 9780199827169
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199746927.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter shows that the electricity sector has undergone two transformations since the 1990s. First, small, traditional wind turbine manufacturers have become industrial heavyweights, and ...
More
This chapter shows that the electricity sector has undergone two transformations since the 1990s. First, small, traditional wind turbine manufacturers have become industrial heavyweights, and traditional power plant manufacturers have recognized that wind turbine manufacturing is big business. Second, new companies specializing in wind‐farm development and operation have emerged, while growing numbers of electric utilities have invested in wind farms. This chapter demonstrates that the environmental movement contributed to these transformations when environmental activists gained control of energy companies and professional societies, criticized the traditional logic of energy production, and offered practical solutions. By becoming entrepreneurs, innovators, advocates, and champions, environmental movement activists and sympathizers made an essential contribution to wind turbine manufacturing. By forming wind turbine cooperatives, founding wind‐farm development companies, and constantly pressuring utility companies to invest in renewable energy, environmental organizations and activists also had a major impact on wind‐farm development.Less
This chapter shows that the electricity sector has undergone two transformations since the 1990s. First, small, traditional wind turbine manufacturers have become industrial heavyweights, and traditional power plant manufacturers have recognized that wind turbine manufacturing is big business. Second, new companies specializing in wind‐farm development and operation have emerged, while growing numbers of electric utilities have invested in wind farms. This chapter demonstrates that the environmental movement contributed to these transformations when environmental activists gained control of energy companies and professional societies, criticized the traditional logic of energy production, and offered practical solutions. By becoming entrepreneurs, innovators, advocates, and champions, environmental movement activists and sympathizers made an essential contribution to wind turbine manufacturing. By forming wind turbine cooperatives, founding wind‐farm development companies, and constantly pressuring utility companies to invest in renewable energy, environmental organizations and activists also had a major impact on wind‐farm development.
Emily Zackin
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691155777
- eISBN:
- 9781400846276
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691155777.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter examines the campaigns for constitutional rights to environmental protection. In the 1960s and 1970s, when Congress was passing landmark environmental regulations and an entire executive ...
More
This chapter examines the campaigns for constitutional rights to environmental protection. In the 1960s and 1970s, when Congress was passing landmark environmental regulations and an entire executive agency had been developed to address the subject, environmental activists continued to lobby for the insertion of positive rights to environmental protection into their state constitutions. As a result, state constitutions came to include broad rights to environmental health and protection. The chapter first provides an overview of environmental activism during the 1960s and 1970s before explaining why environmental activists targeted state constitutions despite so much environmental action at the national level. It argues that environmentalists did not choose to pursue constitutional rights to environmental protection only at the federal level. Instead, states' constitutional conventions, environmental organizations, and even legislatures continued to alter state constitutions by adding mandates for protective and interventionist government.Less
This chapter examines the campaigns for constitutional rights to environmental protection. In the 1960s and 1970s, when Congress was passing landmark environmental regulations and an entire executive agency had been developed to address the subject, environmental activists continued to lobby for the insertion of positive rights to environmental protection into their state constitutions. As a result, state constitutions came to include broad rights to environmental health and protection. The chapter first provides an overview of environmental activism during the 1960s and 1970s before explaining why environmental activists targeted state constitutions despite so much environmental action at the national level. It argues that environmentalists did not choose to pursue constitutional rights to environmental protection only at the federal level. Instead, states' constitutional conventions, environmental organizations, and even legislatures continued to alter state constitutions by adding mandates for protective and interventionist government.
Avner de‐Shalit
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199240388
- eISBN:
- 9780191599033
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199240388.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
What sort of democracy is more likely to sustain environment‐friendly policies? Unlike a number of recent works that have praised representative democracy as the optimal form of democracy for the ...
More
What sort of democracy is more likely to sustain environment‐friendly policies? Unlike a number of recent works that have praised representative democracy as the optimal form of democracy for the environment, it is argued that the more deliberative and participatory the democracy the more environment friendly it will be. It is shown that many environmental activists support such conclusions.Less
What sort of democracy is more likely to sustain environment‐friendly policies? Unlike a number of recent works that have praised representative democracy as the optimal form of democracy for the environment, it is argued that the more deliberative and participatory the democracy the more environment friendly it will be. It is shown that many environmental activists support such conclusions.
Douglas Torgerson
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295099
- eISBN:
- 9780191599262
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829509X.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Green movements on the Western European model need to be more aware that their predilection for open public debate and transparency of government decision‐making can be insensitive to the interests ...
More
Green movements on the Western European model need to be more aware that their predilection for open public debate and transparency of government decision‐making can be insensitive to the interests of aboriginal peoples who do not share that predilection. While both environmentalists and aboriginals have a common cause in defending against encroachments by the forces of industrialism, there is an inherent paradox in the Green political concept of ‘defence of place’ arising from the fact that their cultural conceptions, of what is to be preserved and why, may conflict with those of the aboriginal peoples actually living there. An instructive case study of the protests over logging practices in Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia is presented. The initial alignment between environmental activists and the Nuu‐chah‐nulth aboriginals gave way to estrangement when, after hundreds of the former had been arrested, fined, or jailed, the representatives of the latter arrived at a political understanding with the authorities in respect of land claims and forest management practices. The shock experienced by some environmentalists over the independent direction taken by the Nuu‐chah‐nulth may suggest that environmentalists and aboriginals were, in fact, operating with quite different images of the forest as property. A greater degree of cultural sensitivity is required to prevent such misunderstandings in future. It is also important to recognize how politicization can change culture—a deliberate political campaign to defend a traditional culture can itself change the culture being defended. It is entirely conceivable for a defence of place—through its own political and cultural dynamics—to undermine the very culture that has given the place its unique meaning and value.Less
Green movements on the Western European model need to be more aware that their predilection for open public debate and transparency of government decision‐making can be insensitive to the interests of aboriginal peoples who do not share that predilection. While both environmentalists and aboriginals have a common cause in defending against encroachments by the forces of industrialism, there is an inherent paradox in the Green political concept of ‘defence of place’ arising from the fact that their cultural conceptions, of what is to be preserved and why, may conflict with those of the aboriginal peoples actually living there. An instructive case study of the protests over logging practices in Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia is presented. The initial alignment between environmental activists and the Nuu‐chah‐nulth aboriginals gave way to estrangement when, after hundreds of the former had been arrested, fined, or jailed, the representatives of the latter arrived at a political understanding with the authorities in respect of land claims and forest management practices. The shock experienced by some environmentalists over the independent direction taken by the Nuu‐chah‐nulth may suggest that environmentalists and aboriginals were, in fact, operating with quite different images of the forest as property. A greater degree of cultural sensitivity is required to prevent such misunderstandings in future. It is also important to recognize how politicization can change culture—a deliberate political campaign to defend a traditional culture can itself change the culture being defended. It is entirely conceivable for a defence of place—through its own political and cultural dynamics—to undermine the very culture that has given the place its unique meaning and value.
Jeannie Sowers
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190916688
- eISBN:
- 9780190942984
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190916688.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Middle Eastern Politics
Environmental activism has intensified across the Middle East and North Africa over the past few decades, focusing primarily on environmental issues that affect public health and livelihoods. While ...
More
Environmental activism has intensified across the Middle East and North Africa over the past few decades, focusing primarily on environmental issues that affect public health and livelihoods. While intrusive security states limit information and stifle civil society, expanding educational opportunities, growing cities, and new means of communication have enabled environmental activism. This includes small-scale, informal, and localized activism to demand access to natural resources and environmental services; the spread of environmental nongovernmental organizations; and the coordinated popular resistance campaign that includes direct action, media outreach, and lobbying. State elites and official media often portray environmental mobilization as a threat to national security and state integrity, but sometimes tolerate it as an informal enforcement mechanism to pressure polluting firms and nonresponsive officials. As elsewhere, state and corporate actors also increasingly deploy their own discourses and interventions, generally focused on technocratic solutions rather than questions of political economy and environmental justice.Less
Environmental activism has intensified across the Middle East and North Africa over the past few decades, focusing primarily on environmental issues that affect public health and livelihoods. While intrusive security states limit information and stifle civil society, expanding educational opportunities, growing cities, and new means of communication have enabled environmental activism. This includes small-scale, informal, and localized activism to demand access to natural resources and environmental services; the spread of environmental nongovernmental organizations; and the coordinated popular resistance campaign that includes direct action, media outreach, and lobbying. State elites and official media often portray environmental mobilization as a threat to national security and state integrity, but sometimes tolerate it as an informal enforcement mechanism to pressure polluting firms and nonresponsive officials. As elsewhere, state and corporate actors also increasingly deploy their own discourses and interventions, generally focused on technocratic solutions rather than questions of political economy and environmental justice.
Alissa Cordner
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231171465
- eISBN:
- 9780231541381
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231171465.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Science, Technology and Environment
Chapter 6 describes how controversies over flame retardants have played out for the public and through the media, examining the actions of a broad coalition of environmental, public interest, and ...
More
Chapter 6 describes how controversies over flame retardants have played out for the public and through the media, examining the actions of a broad coalition of environmental, public interest, and fire safety groups pushing for flame retardant restrictions and the work of well-funded industry front groups defending these chemicals.Less
Chapter 6 describes how controversies over flame retardants have played out for the public and through the media, examining the actions of a broad coalition of environmental, public interest, and fire safety groups pushing for flame retardant restrictions and the work of well-funded industry front groups defending these chemicals.
Jared Orsi
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520238503
- eISBN:
- 9780520930087
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520238503.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
The Los Angeles County Drainage Area (LACDA) lived up to its promise in 1969, preventing damages estimated at more than a billion dollars. As they had done with previous storms, flood controllers ...
More
The Los Angeles County Drainage Area (LACDA) lived up to its promise in 1969, preventing damages estimated at more than a billion dollars. As they had done with previous storms, flood controllers assessed the 1969 gale as proof of the structures' success. However, their euphoria had faded by the mid-1980s. In a “LACDA Update” which the Army Corps mass mailed to Los Angeles County residents in September 1987, the corps warned, “Disastrous Flooding Could Return to Los Angeles County.” In a departure from a half century of treating flood control solely as an engineering problem to be dealt with solely by engineers, experts now called for public involvement. This change reflected two decades of political and environmental turmoil. First, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, environmentalists began mounting the first serious political challenge to flood-control engineering since the 1920s. Then in 1978 and 1980, comparatively minor storms produced catastrophic damage, leading engineers to rethink the technical soundness of LACDA. Together, the environmental activism and the renewed flood problems reopened the entire question of flood control for the first time in seven decades and injected nontechnical strategies and public involvement into flood-control planning. Although the old flood-control regime of reengineered rivers and expert bureaucrats by no means collapsed, the political and environmental turmoil after 1969 shook the foundations of the flood-control program that southern Californians had instituted in 1915.Less
The Los Angeles County Drainage Area (LACDA) lived up to its promise in 1969, preventing damages estimated at more than a billion dollars. As they had done with previous storms, flood controllers assessed the 1969 gale as proof of the structures' success. However, their euphoria had faded by the mid-1980s. In a “LACDA Update” which the Army Corps mass mailed to Los Angeles County residents in September 1987, the corps warned, “Disastrous Flooding Could Return to Los Angeles County.” In a departure from a half century of treating flood control solely as an engineering problem to be dealt with solely by engineers, experts now called for public involvement. This change reflected two decades of political and environmental turmoil. First, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, environmentalists began mounting the first serious political challenge to flood-control engineering since the 1920s. Then in 1978 and 1980, comparatively minor storms produced catastrophic damage, leading engineers to rethink the technical soundness of LACDA. Together, the environmental activism and the renewed flood problems reopened the entire question of flood control for the first time in seven decades and injected nontechnical strategies and public involvement into flood-control planning. Although the old flood-control regime of reengineered rivers and expert bureaucrats by no means collapsed, the political and environmental turmoil after 1969 shook the foundations of the flood-control program that southern Californians had instituted in 1915.
Anna Lora-Wainwright
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036320
- eISBN:
- 9780262341097
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036320.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The conclusion draws comparisons across the three sites and it highlights common dynamics and processes, such as the normalisation of pollution, moulding of new parameters of health and new ...
More
The conclusion draws comparisons across the three sites and it highlights common dynamics and processes, such as the normalisation of pollution, moulding of new parameters of health and new expectations for a “good life.” It closes by returning to the main themes of the book and to their implications for the social science study of environmentalism and of contemporary China. It reflects on the wider global responsibility for the forms of pollution and suffering described, and on the importance of looking beyond conventional forms of activism and of taking local contexts seriously. It puts forth some suggestions for how academics might contribute to empowering communities affected by pollution.Less
The conclusion draws comparisons across the three sites and it highlights common dynamics and processes, such as the normalisation of pollution, moulding of new parameters of health and new expectations for a “good life.” It closes by returning to the main themes of the book and to their implications for the social science study of environmentalism and of contemporary China. It reflects on the wider global responsibility for the forms of pollution and suffering described, and on the importance of looking beyond conventional forms of activism and of taking local contexts seriously. It puts forth some suggestions for how academics might contribute to empowering communities affected by pollution.
Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao and Liu Hwa-Jen
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520230248
- eISBN:
- 9780520935976
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520230248.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
This chapter presents two stories of community mobilization in Taipei: defending living space and birth of a five-hectare city park, Nos. 14–15 Park. These two vignettes show both the successes and ...
More
This chapter presents two stories of community mobilization in Taipei: defending living space and birth of a five-hectare city park, Nos. 14–15 Park. These two vignettes show both the successes and failures of urban environmental activism in Taiwan's capital city, Taipei. It also attempts to discuss the pattern of development to which the protesters were reacting. It then reviews the varieties of community-based environmental activism during the eighties and nineties and its impact on environmental policies. The issue raised by the two vignettes is addressed: the relationship between sustainability and social justice. In the process of struggle, local communities have served as agents of environmental action. The responsiveness of both the national and municipal governments has proven the political efficacy of community action. The idea that the improvement of the urban environment cannot be divorced from the realization of social justice must become a more integral part of movement ideology.Less
This chapter presents two stories of community mobilization in Taipei: defending living space and birth of a five-hectare city park, Nos. 14–15 Park. These two vignettes show both the successes and failures of urban environmental activism in Taiwan's capital city, Taipei. It also attempts to discuss the pattern of development to which the protesters were reacting. It then reviews the varieties of community-based environmental activism during the eighties and nineties and its impact on environmental policies. The issue raised by the two vignettes is addressed: the relationship between sustainability and social justice. In the process of struggle, local communities have served as agents of environmental action. The responsiveness of both the national and municipal governments has proven the political efficacy of community action. The idea that the improvement of the urban environment cannot be divorced from the realization of social justice must become a more integral part of movement ideology.
Hilary Inwood, Joe E. Heimlich, Kumara S. Ward, and Jennifer D. Adams
Alex Russ and Marianne E. Krasny (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781501705823
- eISBN:
- 9781501712791
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501705823.003.0024
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
This chapter examines the ways that the arts are transforming environmental education in urban centers and helping bring about cultural shifts toward sustainability. Around the world, cities are ...
More
This chapter examines the ways that the arts are transforming environmental education in urban centers and helping bring about cultural shifts toward sustainability. Around the world, cities are using the arts to enhance urban aesthetic experiences and foster innovative environmental activism. Manifesting as flash mobs, immersive street theater, bike parades, pop-up installations, zero-carbon concerts, and participatory storytelling, artists are harnessing their creativity and ingenuity to draw attention to and propose solutions for the environmental challenges faced by cities in the twenty-first century. Also known as creative or artistic activism, environmental arts are becoming part of the curriculum in schools, universities, colleges, museums, and community centers, and they are being integrated into the fabric of the city in unexpected spaces such as parks, city streets, alleyways, and rooftops. This chapter cites examples showing how visual arts, music, dance, drama, and other art forms help to bring about positive environmental change.Less
This chapter examines the ways that the arts are transforming environmental education in urban centers and helping bring about cultural shifts toward sustainability. Around the world, cities are using the arts to enhance urban aesthetic experiences and foster innovative environmental activism. Manifesting as flash mobs, immersive street theater, bike parades, pop-up installations, zero-carbon concerts, and participatory storytelling, artists are harnessing their creativity and ingenuity to draw attention to and propose solutions for the environmental challenges faced by cities in the twenty-first century. Also known as creative or artistic activism, environmental arts are becoming part of the curriculum in schools, universities, colleges, museums, and community centers, and they are being integrated into the fabric of the city in unexpected spaces such as parks, city streets, alleyways, and rooftops. This chapter cites examples showing how visual arts, music, dance, drama, and other art forms help to bring about positive environmental change.
Ken’ichi Miyamoto
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824836924
- eISBN:
- 9780824871109
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824836924.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter examines the historical lessons that can be drawn from Japan's environmental policy making to date as well as the key environmental policy challenges that confront Japan today. It begins ...
More
This chapter examines the historical lessons that can be drawn from Japan's environmental policy making to date as well as the key environmental policy challenges that confront Japan today. It begins with a discussion of Japan's pollution problems before World War II, focusing on the major pollution incidents that marked the modern era such as those involving Hitachi Mining (now Hitachi Ltd.), Osaka Alkali (now Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd.), Sumitomo Metal Mining, and the city of Osaka. It then considers the four major pollution cases that occurred after Japan abandoned the pollution control measures it had taken in the prewar period in favor of a focused economic development policy of high-speed growth following World War II: Minamata disease, Niigata Minamata disease, Itai-Itai disease (cadmium poisoning), and the air pollution emitted by the Yokkaichi industrial complex. The chapter also describes the deficiencies of Japan's pollution control measures, along with the distinguishing features of Japanese environmental policy making and postwar citizens' environmental activism. Finally, it addresses the importance of creating a sustainable society that recycles its resources.Less
This chapter examines the historical lessons that can be drawn from Japan's environmental policy making to date as well as the key environmental policy challenges that confront Japan today. It begins with a discussion of Japan's pollution problems before World War II, focusing on the major pollution incidents that marked the modern era such as those involving Hitachi Mining (now Hitachi Ltd.), Osaka Alkali (now Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd.), Sumitomo Metal Mining, and the city of Osaka. It then considers the four major pollution cases that occurred after Japan abandoned the pollution control measures it had taken in the prewar period in favor of a focused economic development policy of high-speed growth following World War II: Minamata disease, Niigata Minamata disease, Itai-Itai disease (cadmium poisoning), and the air pollution emitted by the Yokkaichi industrial complex. The chapter also describes the deficiencies of Japan's pollution control measures, along with the distinguishing features of Japanese environmental policy making and postwar citizens' environmental activism. Finally, it addresses the importance of creating a sustainable society that recycles its resources.
Julian Agyeman and Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262012669
- eISBN:
- 9780262255493
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262012669.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The legacy of environmental catastrophe in the states of the former Soviet Union includes desertification, pollution, and the toxic aftermath of industrial accidents, the most notorious of which was ...
More
The legacy of environmental catastrophe in the states of the former Soviet Union includes desertification, pollution, and the toxic aftermath of industrial accidents, the most notorious of which was the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. This book examines the development of environmental activism in Russia and the former Soviet republics in response to these problems, and its effect on policy and planning. It also shows that because of increasing economic, ethnic, and social inequality in the former Soviet states, debates over environmental justice are beginning to come to the fore. The book explores the varying environmental, social, political, and economic circumstances of these countries—which range from the Western-style democracies of the Baltic states to the totalitarian regimes of Central Asia—and how they affect the ecological and environmental situation and public health. Among the topics covered are environmentalism in Russia (including the progressive nature of its laws on environmental protection, which are undermined by overburdened and underpaid law enforcement); the effect of oil wealth on Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan; the role of nationalism in Latvian environmentalism; the struggle of Russia’s indigenous peoples for environmental justice; public participation in Estonia’s environmental movement; and lack of access to natural capital in Tajikistan. The book makes clear that although fragile transition economies, varying degrees of democratization, and a focus on national security can stymie progress toward “just sustainability,” the diverse states of the former Soviet Union are making some progress toward “green” and environmental justice issues separately.Less
The legacy of environmental catastrophe in the states of the former Soviet Union includes desertification, pollution, and the toxic aftermath of industrial accidents, the most notorious of which was the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. This book examines the development of environmental activism in Russia and the former Soviet republics in response to these problems, and its effect on policy and planning. It also shows that because of increasing economic, ethnic, and social inequality in the former Soviet states, debates over environmental justice are beginning to come to the fore. The book explores the varying environmental, social, political, and economic circumstances of these countries—which range from the Western-style democracies of the Baltic states to the totalitarian regimes of Central Asia—and how they affect the ecological and environmental situation and public health. Among the topics covered are environmentalism in Russia (including the progressive nature of its laws on environmental protection, which are undermined by overburdened and underpaid law enforcement); the effect of oil wealth on Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan; the role of nationalism in Latvian environmentalism; the struggle of Russia’s indigenous peoples for environmental justice; public participation in Estonia’s environmental movement; and lack of access to natural capital in Tajikistan. The book makes clear that although fragile transition economies, varying degrees of democratization, and a focus on national security can stymie progress toward “just sustainability,” the diverse states of the former Soviet Union are making some progress toward “green” and environmental justice issues separately.
Charlotte Epstein
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262050920
- eISBN:
- 9780262272384
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262050920.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter examines the development of a new, dominant global discourse about whales that featured them as endangered, intelligent, and extraordinary mammals which needed to be saved from the ...
More
This chapter examines the development of a new, dominant global discourse about whales that featured them as endangered, intelligent, and extraordinary mammals which needed to be saved from the whalers. The analysis of the discourse unfolds in two parts. The first part shows how the anti-whaling discourse rose to prevalence because it combined two, preexisting metanarratives: that of the Cold War discourse on capitalism and democracy, and that of a nascent environmental discourse. Specifically, it analyzes the double synecdochic move which fixed the whale signifier in this new discourse in such a way that saving the whales became shorthand for saving endangered species, and the endangered planet as a whole. The second part of the chapter examines what the new discourse actually achieved. First, at a specific juncture in the early 1970s in American politics, it created a vast discourse coalition of anti-whaling state and non-state actors that extended to the international level. Second, the new discourse provided a specific script for “doing something” about the environment, thereby yielding a new grammar for environmental activism at large.Less
This chapter examines the development of a new, dominant global discourse about whales that featured them as endangered, intelligent, and extraordinary mammals which needed to be saved from the whalers. The analysis of the discourse unfolds in two parts. The first part shows how the anti-whaling discourse rose to prevalence because it combined two, preexisting metanarratives: that of the Cold War discourse on capitalism and democracy, and that of a nascent environmental discourse. Specifically, it analyzes the double synecdochic move which fixed the whale signifier in this new discourse in such a way that saving the whales became shorthand for saving endangered species, and the endangered planet as a whole. The second part of the chapter examines what the new discourse actually achieved. First, at a specific juncture in the early 1970s in American politics, it created a vast discourse coalition of anti-whaling state and non-state actors that extended to the international level. Second, the new discourse provided a specific script for “doing something” about the environment, thereby yielding a new grammar for environmental activism at large.
Dominic Hauck
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029247
- eISBN:
- 9780262329736
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029247.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The paper develops a theory that shows how informed Not In My Backyard activism can benefit investors, who want to invest in risky projects. The argument is based on the idea that evaluation of the ...
More
The paper develops a theory that shows how informed Not In My Backyard activism can benefit investors, who want to invest in risky projects. The argument is based on the idea that evaluation of the physical risk of such a project is costly for investors. The threat of being affected by an externality after the project has been realized, e.g. due to an accident at the project site, motivates activists to collect information. When the payoffs of investors and activists are correlated, i.e. informed activists prevent dangerous projects with low returns but accept safe projects, investors can save on the risk evaluation up front. The paper discusses how the cost of becoming informed, the cost of fighting the project, and expected net payoff of the project affect the savings of the investor due to activism.Less
The paper develops a theory that shows how informed Not In My Backyard activism can benefit investors, who want to invest in risky projects. The argument is based on the idea that evaluation of the physical risk of such a project is costly for investors. The threat of being affected by an externality after the project has been realized, e.g. due to an accident at the project site, motivates activists to collect information. When the payoffs of investors and activists are correlated, i.e. informed activists prevent dangerous projects with low returns but accept safe projects, investors can save on the risk evaluation up front. The paper discusses how the cost of becoming informed, the cost of fighting the project, and expected net payoff of the project affect the savings of the investor due to activism.
Peggy Frankland
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617037726
- eISBN:
- 9781621039402
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617037726.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
This chapter presents the stories of seven women—Mildred Fossier, Mary McCastle, Florence Gossen, Clara Baudoin, Liz Avants, Les Ann Kirkland, and Mary Tutwiler—demonstrating how their work as women ...
More
This chapter presents the stories of seven women—Mildred Fossier, Mary McCastle, Florence Gossen, Clara Baudoin, Liz Avants, Les Ann Kirkland, and Mary Tutwiler—demonstrating how their work as women often informed, motivated, and connected them. These women reiterate that the biggest beneficiaries of the Louisiana grassroots environmental movement are children and subsequent generations.Less
This chapter presents the stories of seven women—Mildred Fossier, Mary McCastle, Florence Gossen, Clara Baudoin, Liz Avants, Les Ann Kirkland, and Mary Tutwiler—demonstrating how their work as women often informed, motivated, and connected them. These women reiterate that the biggest beneficiaries of the Louisiana grassroots environmental movement are children and subsequent generations.
Peggy Frankland
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617037726
- eISBN:
- 9781621039402
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617037726.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
This chapter presents the stories of five women—Sister Helen Vinton, Lorna Bourg, Marylee Orr, Linda King, and Wilma Subra—who established careers in environmental activism, and who made unique ...
More
This chapter presents the stories of five women—Sister Helen Vinton, Lorna Bourg, Marylee Orr, Linda King, and Wilma Subra—who established careers in environmental activism, and who made unique contributions to Louisiana’s environmental movement by providing technical information, guidance on strategy, and moral support.Less
This chapter presents the stories of five women—Sister Helen Vinton, Lorna Bourg, Marylee Orr, Linda King, and Wilma Subra—who established careers in environmental activism, and who made unique contributions to Louisiana’s environmental movement by providing technical information, guidance on strategy, and moral support.
Shannon Elizabeth Bell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262034340
- eISBN:
- 9780262333597
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034340.003.0010
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
Chapter 9 presents the story of what transpired in each of the five communities during the Photovoice project. It describes the significant events and micro-level interactions that took place during ...
More
Chapter 9 presents the story of what transpired in each of the five communities during the Photovoice project. It describes the significant events and micro-level interactions that took place during the Photovoice meetings and in the larger communities, providing an analysis of how those events and interactions influenced the likelihood that group members would publicly acknowledge their concerns about coal industry practices or become involved in environmental justice activism. This chapter provides important insight into the power dynamics in these small communities and the ways in which an “outsider stigma” can be applied to certain individuals–even local residents–as a way of discrediting their grievances about coal industry practices. This chapter also describes the way in which a number of the Photovoice participants who had expressed unhappiness with coal industry practices chose not to directly advocate for changes to the coal industry but instead decided to become involved in “non-contentious advocacy issues,” community problems–like poor road conditions or litter–that did not challenge the power structure but still gave these residents the satisfaction of taking action on behalf of their communities.Less
Chapter 9 presents the story of what transpired in each of the five communities during the Photovoice project. It describes the significant events and micro-level interactions that took place during the Photovoice meetings and in the larger communities, providing an analysis of how those events and interactions influenced the likelihood that group members would publicly acknowledge their concerns about coal industry practices or become involved in environmental justice activism. This chapter provides important insight into the power dynamics in these small communities and the ways in which an “outsider stigma” can be applied to certain individuals–even local residents–as a way of discrediting their grievances about coal industry practices. This chapter also describes the way in which a number of the Photovoice participants who had expressed unhappiness with coal industry practices chose not to directly advocate for changes to the coal industry but instead decided to become involved in “non-contentious advocacy issues,” community problems–like poor road conditions or litter–that did not challenge the power structure but still gave these residents the satisfaction of taking action on behalf of their communities.
Peggy Frankland
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617037726
- eISBN:
- 9781621039402
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617037726.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
This chapter presents the stories of six women—Jessie Price, Gay Hanks, Mary Brasseaux, Florence Robinson, Mary Ellender, and Carol Savoy—whose environmental activism became especially difficult in ...
More
This chapter presents the stories of six women—Jessie Price, Gay Hanks, Mary Brasseaux, Florence Robinson, Mary Ellender, and Carol Savoy—whose environmental activism became especially difficult in the mid-1980s, when the decline of Louisiana’s oil and gas industry devastated the state’s economy. Louisiana’s political and economic climate pitted these women against individuals and companies wielding a great deal of power and not afraid to use it.Less
This chapter presents the stories of six women—Jessie Price, Gay Hanks, Mary Brasseaux, Florence Robinson, Mary Ellender, and Carol Savoy—whose environmental activism became especially difficult in the mid-1980s, when the decline of Louisiana’s oil and gas industry devastated the state’s economy. Louisiana’s political and economic climate pitted these women against individuals and companies wielding a great deal of power and not afraid to use it.