<p> The municipal and public officials in Beaufort/Jasper, South Carolina (SC) and Effingham/Chatham, Georgia (GA) counties in the lower Savannah River Basin (LSRB) are faced with a dilemma of supplying potable water on an equitable basis to their communities from the surface and groundwater that has been partially polluted and/or is not sustainable. State regulatory agencies have implemented strategies to protect the regional water resources from further degradation of ecosystems, but these remedies are not addressing a crucial issue. The potable water issue is more critical than simply affecting to protect the local ecosystem. Hence, the thesis question is: </p><p> <b>Can current strategies, by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and the Georgia Environmental Division (GAEPD), secure potable water sources from the lower Savannah River Basin in the region, potentially provide effective, efficient, and equitable results? </b> </p><p> Economic development and demographic changes have equally impacted the surface and groundwater. Groundwater was the primary source of potable water in predevelopment (prior to industrial revolution) and even post development era, but gradually became unsustainable. The alternative surface water source has also been polluted by the industrial and domestic wastewater treatment plant discharges. Surface water contains natural organic compounds, and even that has been overwhelmed by the added pollutants in wastewater treatment plant effluent. This has further increased formation of potential carcinogenic disinfection and disinfection byproducts in potable water. The carcinogen removal process has become expensive, but the potential risk for contamination remains problematic. </p><p> To answer the research question, interviews and surveys were conducted. The population for this research consists of municipal and public officials and water treatment professionals. The samples were selected due to their expertise and responsibility to supply safe drinking water to their communities. Collected data analyzed using Microsfot Excel to arrange in matrixes, and explained in simple narratives. The results were summarized and recommendations were made. </p><p> Most of the subjects agreed that water resources are not sustainable at current usage rate in the region. Groundwater is not sustainable and surface water quality has deteriorated due to organic pollutants in the industrial and domestic wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. The cost of producing safe drinking water from partially or potentially polluted surface water is higher than the cost of processing groundwater. The cost of desalination of seawater or brackish well water is even higher than ground or surface water treatment. </p><p> Seawater desalination is not a cost effective option now. However, conflicting interests regarding the switch over to seawater desalination as long as surface water treatment operating cost remains lower than the seawater desalination, surface water will remain a sustainable source. </p><p> Although seawater desalination is a more sustainable strategy to produce potable water in the Low Country Region. Surface water treatment is less expensive and in turn, local professionals view it as the best option. This I believe is a limited short term viewpoint, which does not address longterm sustainability issues. Efforts regulatory agencies and utilities, to produce safe drinking water from surface water will continue in the Lower Savannah River Basin (LSRB). </p>

Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

<p> This is an empirical study of ecological worldviews and action logics of global sustainability leaders. Although a body of research has emerged in recent years focused on corporate sustainability practices at the organizational level, the literature has paid less attention to corporate sustainability at the individual level. As a result, little is known about the deeper psychological motivations of sustainability leaders and how these motivations may influence their behavior and effectiveness as change agents. </p><p> This study was based on theoretical insights from several social science disciplines including ecopsychology, integral ecology, environmental sociology, and developmental psychology. Drawing on interviews with 65 leaders in more than 50 multinational corporations, NGOs, and consultancies, the study presents three major propositions that illuminate specific ways that ecological worldviews and action logics are developed and expressed by sustainability leaders. Specific findings include five experiences that shape ecological worldviews over the lifespan and six ways that post-conventional action logics are expressed by sustainability leaders. Findings also include how the complexity of sustainability is driving highly collaborative approaches to leadership. Insights from this research can be integrated into leadership development programs in a wide range of public and private institutions and will be of interest to a range of sustainability scholars, social science researchers, sustainability executives, and social entrepreneurs. </p><p> Key Words: Sustainability leader, ecological worldviews, action logics, ecopsychology, developmental theory, new ecological paradigm, ecological self, corporate sustainability.</p>

<p> This thesis aims to provide a normative evaluation of the Western U.S. water law of prior appropriation through a contextual analysis of water value pluralism. The first chapter begins with a preliminary account of the major justificatory arguments made in defense of prior appropriation, followed by two critiques that undermine some proposed advantages of the water policy. The purpose of this analysis is to elucidate the normative claims that underlie many of the arguments within this debate but which fail to be made explicit. It becomes clear that these normative claims assume a utilitarian criterion for resource distribution, according to which water is primarily viewed as an economic good with a monetary value. The second chapter challenges the legitimacy of this assumption by introducing non-monetary water values, with attention to the particular social and cultural contexts in which they emerge. Through a review of four economic proxies, these non-monetary water values are shown to be incommensurable with monetary valuations. Finally, the third chapter offers a theoretical framework for the incorporation of non-monetary water values into resource distribution decisions. From this normative analysis, it is concluded that a necessary condition for achieving just resource distribution decisions is for prior appropriation to incorporate value pluralism by recognizing the legitimacy of non-monetary water values.</p>

As the province of British Columbia seeks to rapidly develop an extensive natural gas industry, it faces a number of challenges. One of these is that of ensuring that development does not disproportionately impact some of the province’s most marginalized communities: the First Nations on whose land extraction will take place. This is particularly crucial given that environmental problems are often caused by unjust and inequitable social conditions that must be rectified before sustainable development can be advanced. This research investigates how the BC Oil and Gas Commission’s consultation process addresses, and could be improved to better address Treaty 8 First Nations’ concerns regarding shale gas development within their traditional territories. Interviews were conducted with four Treaty 8 First Nations, the Treaty 8 Tribal Association, and provincial government and industry staff. Additionally, participant observation was conducted with the Fort Nelson First Nation Lands and Resources Department. Findings indicate that like many other resource consultation processes in British Columbia, the oil and gas consultation process is unable to meaningfully address First Nations’ concerns and values due to fundamental procedural problems, including the permit-by-permit approach and the exclusion of First Nations from the point of decision-making. Considering the government’s failure to regulate the shale gas industry in a way that protects ecological, social and cultural resilience, we argue that new governance mechanisms are needed that reallocate authority to First Nations and incorporate proposals for early engagement, long-term planning and cumulative impact assessment and monitoring. Additionally, considering the exceptional power differential between government, industry and First Nations, we argue that challenging industry’s social license to operate is an important strategy for First Nations working to gain greater influence over development within their territories, and ensure a more sustainable shale gas industry. / Graduate / 0768 / 0615 / kgarvie@uvic.ca

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, March, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2008. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-239). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Dept. of Anthropology, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2008. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / "July, 2004." "June 2004"--Technical report documentation page. "RI 02-012." Includes bibliographical references (p. 284-292).