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Description
Principles of climate mitigation in environmental ethics often draw on either considerations of fairness and forward-looking concerns, or on justice and backward-looking concerns. That is, according to some theorists, considerations of the current distribution of climate benefits and burdens are foremost, while others take repairing historic wrongs as paramount. Some

Principles of climate mitigation in environmental ethics often draw on either considerations of fairness and forward-looking concerns, or on justice and backward-looking concerns. That is, according to some theorists, considerations of the current distribution of climate benefits and burdens are foremost, while others take repairing historic wrongs as paramount. Some theorists integrate considerations of fairness and justice to formulate hybrid climate principles. Such an integrative approach is promising particularly in the context of environmental harm to indigenous subsistence peoples, who are among those suffering the most from climate change. I argue that existing integrative climate principles tend not to sufficiently emphasize considerations of backward-looking justice. This is a problem for indigenous peoples seeking reparations for environmental harm and violations of their human rights. Specifically, indigenous people in the Arctic suffer a cultural harm from climate change as they lose their land, and their way of life, to erosion, cementing their status as climate refugees. I argue that the current climate situation facing Native Arctic people is unfair according to Rawls' second principle of justice. In addition, the situation is unjust as indigenous people suffer from emissions by others and few attempts are made for reparations. Thus, Rawlsian fairness combined with reparative justice provide a befitting theoretical framework. I conclude that an acceptable climate principle will adequately integrate considerations of both fairness and justice, both forward-looking and backward-looking considerations.
ContributorsSweetland, Lauren (Author) / Brake, Elizabeth (Thesis advisor) / Tsosie, Rebecca (Committee member) / Portmore, Douglas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Mexico City has an ongoing air pollution issue that negatively affects its citizens and surroundings with current structural disconnections preventing the city from improving its overall air quality. Thematic methodological analysis reveals current obstacles and barriers, as well as variables contributing to this persistent problem. A historical background reveals current

Mexico City has an ongoing air pollution issue that negatively affects its citizens and surroundings with current structural disconnections preventing the city from improving its overall air quality. Thematic methodological analysis reveals current obstacles and barriers, as well as variables contributing to this persistent problem. A historical background reveals current programs and policies implemented to improve Mexico’s City air quality. Mexico City’s current systems, infrastructure, and policies are inadequate and ineffective. There is a lack of appropriate regulation on other modes of transportation, and the current government system fails to identify how the class disparity in the city and lack of adequate education are contributing to this ongoing problem. Education and adequate public awareness can potentially aid the fight against air pollution in the Metropolitan City.
ContributorsGarcia, Lucero (Author) / Duarte, Marisa E. (Thesis advisor) / Arzubiaga, Angela (Committee member) / Richter, Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
Sustainability and environmental justice, two fields that developed parallel to each other, are both insufficient to deal with the challenges posed by institutional environmental violence (IEV). This thesis examines the discursive history of sustainability and critiques its focus on science-based technical solutions to large-scale global problems. It further analyzes the

Sustainability and environmental justice, two fields that developed parallel to each other, are both insufficient to deal with the challenges posed by institutional environmental violence (IEV). This thesis examines the discursive history of sustainability and critiques its focus on science-based technical solutions to large-scale global problems. It further analyzes the gaps in sustainability discourse that can be filled by environmental justice, such as the challenges posed by environmental racism. Despite this, neither field is able to contend with IEV in a meaningful way, which this thesis argues using the case study of the Flint Water Crisis (FWC). The FWC has been addressed as both an issue of sustainability and of environmental justice, yet IEV persists in the community. This is due in part to the narrative of crisis reflected by the FWC and the role that knowledge production plays in that narrative. To fill the gap left by both sustainability and environmental justice, this thesis emphasizes the need for a transformational methodology incorporating knowledge produced by communities and individuals directly impacted by sustainability problems.
ContributorsWest, Madison Sedona (Author) / Graffy, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Klinsky, Sonja (Committee member) / Broberg, Gregory (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
The Santa Cruz River Basin shared by Northern Sonora and Southern Arizona is one example of transboundary water resources in the borderlands region that accurately portrays the complexities of binational management of common pool resources, such as water. Industrialization fueled by trade liberalization has resulted in migration to and urbanization

The Santa Cruz River Basin shared by Northern Sonora and Southern Arizona is one example of transboundary water resources in the borderlands region that accurately portrays the complexities of binational management of common pool resources, such as water. Industrialization fueled by trade liberalization has resulted in migration to and urbanization along the border, which have created human rights issues with the lack of water and sanitation, groundwater overdraft of the shared aquifers, and contamination of these scarce resources. Effluent from wastewater treatment plants continues to play increasingly important roles in the region, the use of which has been a source of tension between the two countries. Contributing to these tensions are the strains on binational relations created by border militarization and SB 1070. A shift in water management strategies to increase pubic participation within decision-making, increase the flexibility of the water systems, and increase cross-border collaboration is needed to ensure human and ecological sustainability in the Santa Cruz River Basin. By incorporating direct communication and local capacity as per common pool resource theory, recognizing the connections and implications of management actions through socio-ecological systems understanding, and promoting the organic drivers of change through ecologies of agents, just and vigorous futures can be envisioned and advanced.
ContributorsEppehimer, Drew (Author) / Haglund, LaDawn (Thesis advisor) / Richter, Jennifer (Committee member) / Smith, Karen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
It is widely recognized that, compared to others, minority and low-income populations are more exposed to environmental burdens and unwanted land uses like waste facilities. To prevent these injustices, cities and industry need to recognize these potential problems in the siting process and work to address them. I studied Phoenix,

It is widely recognized that, compared to others, minority and low-income populations are more exposed to environmental burdens and unwanted land uses like waste facilities. To prevent these injustices, cities and industry need to recognize these potential problems in the siting process and work to address them. I studied Phoenix, AZ, which has historically suffered from environmental justice issues. I examined whether Phoenix considered environmental justice concerns when siting their newest landfill (SR-85) and transfer station (North Gateway Transfer Station). Additionally, I assessed current views on sustainability from members of the Phoenix Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee and of decision-makers in the Public Works Department and Solid Waste Division. Using a mixed methods approach consisting of interviews, document analysis, and a demographic assessment of census tracts, I addressed two main research questions:

1. Do the distributions and siting processes of environmental burdens from SR-85 and North Gateway Transfer Station constitute a case of environmental injustice according to commonly held definitions?

2. Do current Solid Waste and council members on the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee consider environmental justice, defined as stakeholder engagement, to be a part of sustainability?

The results show that the distribution and siting processes of environmental burdens from these facilities may constitute a case of environmental injustice. While city officials do involve stakeholders in siting decisions, the effects of this involvement is unclear. An analysis of long-term demographic data, however, revealed no significant racial, ethnic, or economic effects due to the locations of the SR-85 and North Gateway Transfer Station.

Interviews with current members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, Public Works Department, and Solid Waste Division indicated that Phoenix’s decision-makers don’t consider environmental justice as part of sustainability. However, they seem to consider stakeholder engagement as important for decision-making.

To help mitigate future injustices, Phoenix needs buffer zone policies for waste facilities and stakeholder engagement policies for decision-making to ensure the public is engaged appropriately in all circumstances. Enacting these policies will help Phoenix become both a more sustainable city and one in which stakeholders have the opportunity to provide feedback and are given decision-making power.
ContributorsGarland, P. M. (Patricia M.) (Author) / Golub, Aaron (Thesis advisor) / Boone, Christopher (Committee member) / Kim, Yushim (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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The natural environment is becoming an increasing concern within the global society and within the realm of social work practice. Social work practitioners and scholars are advocating for incorporating environmental justice into social work education, but have yet to adequately develop the research and strategies to execute this task. To

The natural environment is becoming an increasing concern within the global society and within the realm of social work practice. Social work practitioners and scholars are advocating for incorporating environmental justice into social work education, but have yet to adequately develop the research and strategies to execute this task. To further develop the research behind this concept, 112 social work students’ attitudes toward the environment were analyzed using the New Environmental Paradigm Scale and questions regarding the intersection of social work and the natural environment. Analysis of the data found social work students were less pro-environment than populations within previous studies. Although, social work students reported the desire to learn more about environmental issues and felt as though it would help them become better social workers. Results also suggested social work students did not know where to find information on environmental issues and misconstrued information on environmental issues, whether or not they felt informed. It will be imperative to further develop the research on incorporating environmental justice into social work education through future pilot programs with student attitudes and cultures into consideration.
ContributorsJung, Christine B (Author) / Androff, David (Thesis advisor) / Bonifas, Robin (Committee member) / Krysik, Judy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
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The modern food system unsustainably produces both a food surplus and record levels of hunger. Capitalist investment into agriculture disrupted natural cycles and social relations. Marx’s concept of the metabolic rift describes the way capitalist agriculture actively deteriorates the ecology (ecological rift) and disenfranchises people from food (social rift) are

The modern food system unsustainably produces both a food surplus and record levels of hunger. Capitalist investment into agriculture disrupted natural cycles and social relations. Marx’s concept of the metabolic rift describes the way capitalist agriculture actively deteriorates the ecology (ecological rift) and disenfranchises people from food (social rift) are traced on the global scale. Then these rifts are deeply explored on the local scale of Maricopa County, Arizona to reveal the ways that even local food systems are enmeshed within the global capitalist agricultural food system. Phoenix, AZ, located in Maricopa County, has made commitments to become equitable and sustainable by 2050 in part to address issues facing the local food system. Efforts to achieve this goal (policies and studies) are analyzed using the frameworks of sustainable development (dominant “green”/ market based sustainability) and just sustainabilities (disruptive/ justice oriented sustainability). These frameworks help determine whether local efforts mend the ecological and social rifts created by capitalist agriculture, or actively deepen them. While a few studies may attempt “sustainable” solutions, they may in fact further entrench local agriculture in an unsustainable globalized food system. The efforts that are able to address both rifts, challenging the logic and structures of capitalist agriculture, are lacking in scale. In order for Phoenix to reach its sustainability goals by 2050, the ecological and social rifts must be addressed together. To do this, residents and policy makers must be able to determine between efforts that toy at the edges of capitalist agriculture and those with transformational potential, as they challenge the structures and logic of capitalism, ultimately mending the metabolic rift. While this is being done on a small scale, much more is needed to achieve a truly just and sustainable food system.
ContributorsLomelin, Marcelo Fabian (Author) / Perkins, Tracy (Thesis advisor) / Haglund, LaDawn (Committee member) / Adamson, Joni (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
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Description
Human activity, such as industrialization and deforestation, have led to an increase in global temperatures and natural disaster events that have resulted in the death of over two million people and an economic loss of over USD $3.64 trillion in the last 50 years. Governments, organizations, and activists across the

Human activity, such as industrialization and deforestation, have led to an increase in global temperatures and natural disaster events that have resulted in the death of over two million people and an economic loss of over USD $3.64 trillion in the last 50 years. Governments, organizations, and activists across the globe have tried to reduce the collateral consequences of human activity on the planet; however, even with increased attention to these issues, there has yet to be much discussion of accountability for planetary harm. Greenhouse gas emissions, waste dumping, and climate change mostly result from individuals, corporations, and governments exploiting the planet of its natural resources freely, without direct and immediate consequence. In the field of criminal justice, the criminalization of and penalization for engagement in certain acts is meant to deter harmful acts. Therefore, to deter auto-genocide, one must ask whether perpetrators of global harm should be held accountable, and what accountability might look like in these scenarios. This article explores traditional definitions of “crime,” punishment, and the criminal label, and discusses the possibility of holding perpetrators of ecocide and the impending auto-genocide accountable utilizing a restorative justice framework.
ContributorsMenes, Norliyana (Author) / Henson, Abigail (Thesis advisor) / Chamberlain, Alyssa W (Committee member) / Blount-Hill, Kwan-Lamar (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
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The act of moving water across basins is a recent phenomenon in Arizona water policy. This thesis creates a narrative arc for understanding the long-term issues that set precedents for interbasin water transportation and the immediate causes--namely the passage of the seminal Groundwater Management Act (GMA) in 1980--that motivated Scottsdale,

The act of moving water across basins is a recent phenomenon in Arizona water policy. This thesis creates a narrative arc for understanding the long-term issues that set precedents for interbasin water transportation and the immediate causes--namely the passage of the seminal Groundwater Management Act (GMA) in 1980--that motivated Scottsdale, Mesa, and Phoenix to acquire rural farmlands in the mid-1980s with the intent of transporting the underlying groundwater back to their respective service areas in the immediate future. Residents of rural areas were active participants in not only the sales of these farmlands, but also in how municipalities would economically develop these properties in the years to come. Their role made these municipal "water farm" purchases function as exchanges. Fears about the impact of these properties and the water transportation they anticipated on communities-of-origin; the limited nature of economic, fiscal, and hydrologic data at the time; and the rise of private water speculators turned water farms into a major political controversy. The six years it took the legislature to wrestle with the problem at the heart this issue--the value of water to rural communities--were among its most tumultuous. The loss of key lawmakers involved in GMA negotiations, the impeachment of Governor Evan Mecham, and a bribery scandal called AZScam collectively sidetracked negotiations. Even more critical was the absence of a mutual recognition that these water farms posed a problem and the external pressure that had forced all parties involved in earlier groundwater-related negotiations to craft compromise. After cities and speculators failed to force a bill favorable to their interests in 1989, a re-alignment among blocs occurred: cities joined with rural interests to craft legislation that grandfathered in existing urban water farms and limited future water farms to several basins. In exchange, rural interests supported a bill to create a Phoenix-area groundwater replenishment district that enabled cooperative management of water supplies. These two bills, which were jointly signed into law in June 1991, tentatively resolved the water farm issue. The creation of a groundwater replenishment district that has subsidized growth in Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima Counties, the creation water bank to store unused Central Arizona Project water for times of drought, and a host of water conservation measures and water leases enabled by the passage of several tribal water rights settlements have set favorable conditions such that Scottsdale, Mesa, and Phoenix never had any reason to transport any water from their water farms. The legacy of these properties then is that they were the product of the intense urgency and uncertainty in urban planning premised on assumptions of growing populations and complementary, inelastic demand. But even as per capita water consumption has declined throughout the Phoenix-area, continued growth has increased demand, beyond the capacity of available supplies so that there will likely be a new push for rural water farms in the foreseeable future.
ContributorsBergelin, Paul (Author) / Hirt, Paul (Thesis advisor) / Vandermeer, Philip (Committee member) / Smith, Karen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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This paper will explore the existing relationship between direct air capture (DAC)technology and energy justice (EJ) principles. As DAC is a nascent technology that is transitioning from the R&D phase to the deployment phase, a standard for typical scaling practices has not yet been established. Additionally, since the industry of DAC aims

This paper will explore the existing relationship between direct air capture (DAC)technology and energy justice (EJ) principles. As DAC is a nascent technology that is transitioning from the R&D phase to the deployment phase, a standard for typical scaling practices has not yet been established. Additionally, since the industry of DAC aims to capture at least 10 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2050, and at least 20 Gt/yr by 2100, the scaling practices of this technology will have a significant impact on communities around the world. Therefore, in this thesis I argue that if DAC is not scaled equitably, it will negatively impact the communities hosting the technology, and would develop a negative reputation which could slow down the overall scaling process. On the flip side, if DAC is scaled equitably, then it could create a positive effect by being deployed in underserved and marginalized communities and providing an economic benefit. This could result in DAC having a positive reputation and scaling more rapidly. In order to understand how the field viewed the integration of EJ principles into the scaling process, I interviewed representatives from DAC companies, experts in energy justice from NGOs and academia, and local government officials. These interviews were semi-structured, open-ended and conducted anonymously. Through these interviews I was able to refine my arguments and put forward a set of guidelines that the industry could use to scale DAC with equity and justice as core principles.
ContributorsSriramprasad, Vishrudh (Author) / Lackner, Klaus S (Thesis advisor) / Miller, Clark (Committee member) / Green, Matt (Committee member) / Hanemann, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023