There’s a hole in the bucket: rethinking the role of community collected data in environmental justice movements
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Katheryne T. Kramer
Abstract
Communities living next to petrochemical facilities, refineries, and other industries producing hazardous air pollution have used inexpensive air sampling technology, known as “Buckets”, to test the air quality of their homes and neighborhoods. These samples have mobilized the communities around environmental justice issues, attracted media attention to their plight, and generated political responses; however they have not been used as part of a litigation strategy. This paper addresses the issue of whether or not these samples could be admissible to advance Clean Air Act claims in favor of these communities. The paper also sets out normative arguments that address whether environmental justice communities should focus their time, efforts, and financial resources to achieve this goal.
This paper grew out of a presentation given at the 2012 Break the Cycle Symposium at Emory University. I am grateful for the support of the Institute for Disparity and Disability, Emory University, and the EPA for making the Symposium possible and for their commitment to the student researchers. None of this would be possible without the efforts of Dr. Leslie Rubin, Dr. Robert Geller and Janice Nodvin, who provided invaluable advice and assistance. Additional thanks to Anne Rolfes, Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade for her interest in my project and her tireless efforts on behalf of Mossville and other Louisiana communities. Finally, I thank my advisor, Professor Colin Crawford, J.D., for his guidance and enthusiasm for this project.
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©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Break the cycle of environmental health disparities in vulnerable children
- Reviews
- Effectiveness of foreign food aid initiatives at addressing child malnutrition and the future of United States food aid policy
- Interventions to improve access to fresh food in vulnerable communities: a review of the literature
- Original Articles
- Disparities in arsenic exposure among children and adolescents in the United States
- The use of home-based caregiver assessment to improve children’s health: a pilot project
- There’s a hole in the bucket: rethinking the role of community collected data in environmental justice movements
- Multilevel analysis of small area violent crime and preterm birth in a racially diverse urban area
- Cyclopedia: sustaining a positive youth development program through community partnership
- Traffic-related air pollution and pediatric asthma in Durham County, North Carolina
- Breaking the cycle through better school siting: a collaborative project to facilitate the effective use of EPA’s guidelines with Georgia’s educational leaders
