This thesis explores environmental justice issues in Latino communities in the Treasure Valley in Idaho. Given the little work focused on environmental justice issues of Latino communities, specifically in the Treasure Valley in Idaho. This thesis aims to, firstly determine whether environmental justice issues of Latino communities are relevant to environmental and social organizations in the Treasure Valley. As part of this, I also aim to unpack why environmental issues in Latino communities are or are not relevant to local social and environmental organizations. I suspected this may be connected to the complex immigration status of Latino groups, however, I discovered that the lack of funding and research, and community awareness challenged these organizations to attend to environmental justice issues. Second, this thesis aims to bring visibility to the Latino community that is often neglected in policy and research regarding environmental justice, which has mostly focused on African-American communities. Finally, a third and related aim is to contribute to the development of a wider vision of environmental justice issues of minority groups by expanding this framework to Hispanic-Latino communities in the Treasure Valley, Idaho. / Master of Arts / Disproportionate exposure to toxic waste, proximity to highways and industry facilities, and lack of access to clean water and food, are some of the environmental justice issues that minority groups in the United States daily face daily. The term environmental justice has evolved with different approaches and lines of thought that built on of vulnerable communities’ mobilizations for social justice issues present in vulnerable communities. This study explores to what extent environmental justice issues in Latino communities are relevant to environmental and social organizations in the Treasure Valley in Idaho. Building on the existing literature on environmental justice and based on semi-structured interviews, this study finds that environmental justice issues are relevant to these organizations, but that social injustices, -a lack of political attention to this issue and a related absence of strategic funding and research hinder these organizations’ ability to address environmental justice issues.

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The provision of adequate sanitation is an essential service. In terms of schedule 4B of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 108 of 1996 (the Constitution), such provision is a function of local government. It falls within the developmental mandate of local government in that it is a basic service that contributes to the quality of people’s lives. However, the lack of access to adequate sanitation is a problem in South Africa, as roughly 17 million people are still without access to improved sanitation. This lack has a detrimental impact on people’s lives and merits an enquiry into the role of local government in providing such services. In this study, the legal mandate of local government in relation to sanitation is explored from an environmental justice perspective, as access to sanitation is an environmental issue. Although there is no explicit constitutional right to sanitation, it is argued that such a right is implicitly recognised by means of the provision of other rights in the Constitution, legislation and policy documents. The study further unpacks the mechanisms and instruments available to municipalities to enable them to achieve the objectives of environmental justice when providing sanitation services. The urban and rural landscape in South Africa have different features, and the people who live in them have different needs. For this reason the features and challenges of urban and rural municipalities are discussed separately, thus establishing the different approaches that urban and rural municipalities might have to follow in the provision of sanitation services. The study concludes with recommendations and the identification of the various governance tools that municipalities may use in order to realise the right to sanitation whilst achieving the objectives of environmental justice. / LLM, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The provision of adequate sanitation is an essential service. In terms of schedule 4B of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 108 of 1996 (the Constitution), such provision is a function of local government. It falls within the developmental mandate of local government in that it is a basic service that contributes to the quality of people’s lives. However, the lack of access to adequate sanitation is a problem in South Africa, as roughly 17 million people are still without access to improved sanitation. This lack has a detrimental impact on people’s lives and merits an enquiry into the role of local government in providing such services. In this study, the legal mandate of local government in relation to sanitation is explored from an environmental justice perspective, as access to sanitation is an environmental issue. Although there is no explicit constitutional right to sanitation, it is argued that such a right is implicitly recognised by means of the provision of other rights in the Constitution, legislation and policy documents. The study further unpacks the mechanisms and instruments available to municipalities to enable them to achieve the objectives of environmental justice when providing sanitation services. The urban and rural landscape in South Africa have different features, and the people who live in them have different needs. For this reason the features and challenges of urban and rural municipalities are discussed separately, thus establishing the different approaches that urban and rural municipalities might have to follow in the provision of sanitation services. The study concludes with recommendations and the identification of the various governance tools that municipalities may use in order to realise the right to sanitation whilst achieving the objectives of environmental justice. / LLM, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

<p> The field of environmental political theory has made great gains in its relatively short existence as an academic discipline. One area in which these advancements can be noticed is the strong discussion surrounding the foundations, institutions, and processes of Western liberalism and the relationship of these elements to issues of environmentalism. Within this discussion has manifested the bedrock assumption that the underlying components of classical liberalism &ndash; namely individualism, negative liberties, and instrumental rationality &ndash; preclude or greatly hinder progress toward securing collective environmental needs. This assumption has great intuitive strength as well as exhibition in liberal democracies such as the United States. However, in using this assumption as a launchpad for reconsidering elements of liberalism scholars have inadvertently closed alternate routes of analysis and theorization. This thesis aims to explore one such alternate route. </p><p> Libertarianism, the contemporary reincarnation of classical liberalism, has been generally disregarded in policy and academic realms due to its stringent and inflexible adherence to self-interest, instrumental rationality, and individualism; in discussions of environment, these complaints are only augmented. These criticisms have been validated by a libertarian scholarship that emphasized nature as a warehouse of resources specifically suited for human use. But from where in libertarianism does this ontology develop, and is it correct? This thesis carries this investigation through its overarching research question: can nonhumans have self-ownership within libertarian theory, and what would that mean for libertarian theory? </p><p> Part I of the thesis introduces us to the foundation, tenants, and overall logical structure of contemporary libertarian theory. Finding autonomy to be the key to moral standing, and finding autonomy to be a contested criterion, we discover the shaky ground on which the totality of libertarianism stands. After identifying the relationship of libertarianism and the environment &ndash; one of atomistic, instrumental, and anthropocentric utilization &ndash; we connect the current non-standing moral status of nonhumans in libertarian theory directly to criteria of autonomy. With autonomy acknowledged as a contested subject, we thus arrive at the conclusion that the lack of moral status awarded to nonhumans has arisen not through logical derivation but the reification of tradition. </p><p> Part II centers on the establishment of a proper framework for the task of evaluating libertarianism&rsquo;s main criteria of autonomy. This framework is grounded foremost in the recognition of the inherent social embeddedness within libertarian theory; this embeddedness is founded in the necessary <i> reciprocation</i> of liberty protections through the principles of non-aggression and non-interference and, while acknowledged by libertarian theorists, remained a largely undernourished portion of libertarian theory. To counter anthropocentric bias &ndash; in effort to ward off the influence of tradition &ndash; additional ecological criteria are added to this framework, culminating in an open, non-anthropocentric framework. Afterward, the chapter examines the Naturalistic Fallacy. Finding our answer in the naturally morally pragmatic nature of Man, this discussion finalizes our analytic framework by emphasizing the practical importance of moral reasoning. </p><p> Part III sets about the task of examining the criteria of autonomy utilized within libertarian theory. Two conceptions of autonomy &ndash; minimalist and prudentialist &ndash; are defined, with discussion showing libertarianism to rely, inherently and explicitly, on prudentialist forms of autonomy. The two primary criteria of prudentialism used, life-planning and reason, are then analyzed in turn; this analysis manifests the critique that in the practical usage of morality both criteria rely on and collapse into minimalism. Prudentialism as a standard is then examined to show its paradoxical reliance on pre-formulated conceptions of human lives, to the detriment of logical consistency and the virtues of negative liberty. Singer&rsquo;s criterion of suffering is then briefly examined, with discussion outlining its inapplicability within libertarian theory. Narveson&rsquo;s question of the moral egoist completes the chapter, with the linkage between nonhuman domination and human domination solidifying the argument that full nonhuman moral standing will reduce both to the advantage of libertarian society. From these critiques, then, we observe the critical failure of prudentialism to hold in praxis and see minimalist autonomy as the necessary foundation for libertarian theory. </p><p> Part IV outlines some consequences of minimalist autonomy within libertarian theory. The questions of reciprocity and nonhuman violence are examined, with discussions of complications and critiques following. These complications comprise the intersection of ecological libertarianism with extant issues within libertarian theory, such as Nozick&rsquo;s Principle of Rectification, the moral allowance of self-defense, and the question of the moral standing of children. Afterward, the broader conversation is considered along with specific consideration of the potential environmental impacts of an ecological libertarian theory. Lastly, some doors for future theorizing are opened &ndash; namely the conceptualization of nonhuman labor and nonhuman property rights &ndash; for future critical investigation. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.) </p>

This thesis examines the discourses of human health and synthetic chemicals that emerged in New Zealand, focusing specifically on the 1970s dioxin controversy. Dioxins were highly toxic contaminants in the herbicide 2,4,5-T, one of the country’s most widely used agricultural chemicals from 1948 to 1987. The theoretical framework of the thesis is grounded in poststructural notions about power/knowledge and ideas from sociology and science studies that highlight the inevitable uncertainties that surround human exposure to chemicals. Archival material from the Agricultural Chemicals Board and the Department of Health, chemical industry publications and a range of other textual materials were analysed using a discourse methodology that focused on intertextuality. To better understand the discursive construction of dioxins in New Zealand, the role of the chemical industry, government and opposition groups in constructing, resisting and politicising dioxins is described. The thesis reconceptualizes environmental (in)justices as not exclusively local, but as boundless, discursive and socio-historic in character. It also reflects on how resolving contemporary dioxin injustices in New Zealand, themselves the result of historical exposures, are problematically still being approached primarily through a reductionist approach to health and chemicals.

Our perceptions of what is just and unjust varies depending on our experiences or ideological affiliation. The formation of the nature reserve Gräsö eastern archipelago was preceded by a debate highlighted in the media, where several of the people on Gräsö positioned themselves for and against the marine reserve. The claims of justice in the debate show variations in perceptions of environmental justice aspects of distribution, recognition and participation. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the pluralism in perceptions of justice may have contributed to the conflict by conducting interviews with advocates and opponents who participated in the deliberation that preceded the decision of the reserve. These are compared with the opinions of environmental justice expressed in interviews with employees of the provincial government who handled the deliberation. The results show a variation in ideas of justice in most aspects and many times the opinions of the advocates better with county government persons than the opponents. That the local population must be recognized as one of the parties to take the decision on reserve formation, if the reserve means a restriction of rights and whether compensation should be paid for these losses are aspects which perceptions of justice varies. In order to address conflicts that are rooted in the variations of justice perception attention must be paid to pluralism in interpretations of environmental justice and the rights that should be taken into account.

This thesis represents an analysis of the concept of environmental justice with the aim of identifying possible legal remedies.  The thesis does so through an analysis of the history of environmental justice as well as an analysis of the theories behind environmental justice.  The thesis analyses the concordance between environmental justice and existing principles of environmental law and policy, while also analysing environmental justice in a UK as well as a European and international context. From the outset, environmental justice deals with the negative effects that environmental decisions have on certain minority populations.  In the US, the concept emerged as a response to what was perceived as discriminate targeting of African-American communities through the siting of environmental harms.  In the UK, where environmental justice is emerging on policy and grassroots level, environmental justice has been given an entirely different connotation relying on social justice arguments and concerns for low-income groups.  The thesis sets out to establish and uncover the specific meaning of environmental justice and its implications in a UK context. The thesis argues that environmental justice is as much a problem in the UK as elsewhere.  Despite empirical shortfalls of some of the work that environmental justice advocates rely upon, environmental justice is a real issue.  In light of this, the thesis argues in favour of the specific utilisation and application of human rights norms as well as an improved framework of corporate social responsibility in the attempt to address environmental injustices.  Such legal approaches can be utilised alongside established tools of public participation and access to environmental information in order to secure an aim of environmental justice.

<p> The goals of this research were to determine if the mode of mineralization and the geology of two abandoned uranium and vanadium mining districts that border the Crow Reservation might be a source for contaminants in the Bighorn River and a source of elevated uranium in home water wells on the Reservation. Surface and spring waters of the Crow Reservation have always been greatly respected by the Crow people, valued as a source of life and health and relied upon for drinking water. Upon learning that the Bighorn River has an EPA 303d impaired water listing due to elevated lead and mercury and that mercury has been detected in the fish from rivers of the Crow Reservation this study was implemented. Watersheds from both mining districts contribute to the Bighorn River that flows through the Crow Reservation.</p><p> Initial research used the National Uranium Resource Evaluation database to analyze available geochemistry for the study areas using GIS. The data showed elevated concentrations of lead in drainages related to the mining areas. The data also showed elevated uranium in many of the surface waters and wells that were tested as a part of the study on the Crow Reservation. The author attended meetings and presented results of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation data analyses to the Crow Environmental Health Steering Committee. Thus, both uranium and lead were added to the list of elements that were being tested in home water wells as part of a community based participatory research project addressing many issues of water quality on the Crow Reservation. Results from home wells tested on the reservation did show elevated uranium. </p><p> Rock samples were collected in the study areas and geochemically analyzed. The results of the analyses support a Permian Phosphoria Formation oil source of metals in the two mining districts. Structural data support fracturing accompanied by tectonic hydrothermal brecciation as a process that introduced oil and brines from the Bighorn Basin into the deposits where the uranium vanadium deposits later formed.</p>

<p> &ldquo;<i>Somos semillas</i>&rdquo; &mdash; we are seeds is a slogan, a sentiment, and a belief that emerges and circulates in a myriad of spaces from Ferguson Black Lives Matter protests advocating for racial justice in the United States, to struggles against state violence in Ayotzinapa, Mexico, to climate justice and food sovereignty movements in Latin America. Seeds are both symbolic and material embodiments of futurity. In this dissertation, I examine the discourses around seeds, particularly genetically modified seeds (GM), and the role of biotechnology as our only purveyor of futurity. In &ldquo;Seeds,&rdquo; I examine the dominant discourses around GM seeds produced by pro-GM actors such as agro-industries including Monsanto and Syngenta, and USDAID programs such as Feed the Future. These discourses are constructed around social and environmental looming crises that include hunger and overpopulation, loss of biodiversity and climate change. In &ldquo;Seeds,&rdquo; thinking through the decolonial option, I challenge the single Western narrative that presents GM seeds and crops as the only path to solve these crises and for humanity to have a utopian future. &ldquo;Seeds&rdquo; takes on a &lsquo;studying up&rsquo; approach that as scholar Laura Nader argues investigates those in power instead of those that are being oppressed. &ldquo;Seeds&rdquo; then works alongside other academic, indigenous, campesin@s, and farmer intellectuals and activists to elucidate a number of ways that people around the world are engaging with such crises and are building different paths to decolonial futures.</p>