Contentious Environmental Issues Research Articles

Communicating science addressing contentious environmental issues: utilizing Luhmann's social systems theory

For complex and socially contentious environmental issues, such as climate change and disease prevention, science communication has proven difficult. As many science communication scholars have determined, education is not the only factor impacting the public's willingness to act upon or even accept scientific information. In this study, we propose using Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems as a framework for research in science and environmental communication. We argue that by focusing on the functions of relevant social systems, the occurrence of communication conflicts may be explained, and new approaches to overcome communication obstacles can be developed. In this study, we provide examples of the theory's utility by looking at pertinent studies regarding relevant systems integral to addressing climate change and sustainability issues, as well as propose new subjects for exploration.

In the end, it’s our future that’s going to be changed: Enquiring about the environment with freedom and responsibility

The environmental crisis—because of its complexity, urgency, unpredictability, and scale—requires a defence of the educational role of philosophy and an account of how to implement philosophical pedagogy in the exploration of environmental issues. This is the aim of this paper. As we face an uncertain future, all educators must consider what knowledge and “know-how” young people need, and what kind of people they need to become, if they are to survive and thrive in this changing world. Philosophical educators cannot assume the ongoing utility of their practice, nor can they expect that their practice should remain the same. In the context of the current crisis, the philosophical exploration of emerging environmental issues raises challenges for those who work in the spirit of Community of Enquiry and these challenges require both discipline and flexibility from practitioners and participants. This paper outlines some of the adaptations that I have used to try and respond flexibly to this predicament. But I also defend an issue on which I believe philosophical educators should hold the line—namely the importance of being non-directive on matters that are philosophically contentious. I defend the view that despite the existential nature of this emergency and its profound urgency, it is not the role of philosophical educators to convince or coerce philosophical learners to adopt particular views on the philosophical questions that this crisis raises. This is because all philosophical enquiry involves creating an environment of freedom and responsibility with respect to what participants believe to be right and true and what they do as a result. Participants in enquiry must be epistemically free to explore and evaluate philosophical questions as they see fit, but they must also be epistemically responsible for the evidence and arguments on which their provisional judgements rest. Equally, participants in enquiry must be ethically free to respond to philosophical problems in ways that express and cultivate their authentic character and commitments, but they remain ethically responsible for their true motivations, their professed values and for the real-life consequences of their words and actions, and their silences and inaction. This paper explores some ways to optimise freedom and responsibility in all forms of philosophical enquiry, drawing specifically on examples of my work with young people on philosophically contentious environmental issues. These examples also highlight some of the adaptations that I have developed to address the challenges that environmental enquiry brings.

Exploration of rural Taiwanese youth’s self-agency in environmental policy controversy deliberations

ABSTRACT This study seeks to understand students’ perceptions of self-agency and how they demonstrate their agency by engaging in discussions of a highly controversial wetland policy facing their community. Five focal students participating in this 13-month long curriculum were selected for further explorations. We traced their learning trajectories to explore how students perceive their own roles in coping with this environmental controversy. Our data included student interviews at three different learning phases and recordings of in-class deliberative activities. The results revealed that students were more aware of their own agency as they navigated the contesting viewpoints among stakeholders. Three themes were generated to explain this change: adults’ business, family communication, and empowerment through civic action. This study showcases that engaging students in deliberations about environmental controversies has the potential to make them more aware of their own agency and become agentic citizens in addressing contentious environmental issues.

Investigating the Human Impacts and the Environmental Consequences of Microplastics Disposal into Water Resources

During the last decades, one of the most contentious environmental issues has been the investigation of the fate of microplastics (MPs) and detrimental consequences in natural and water resources worldwide. In this respect, it is critical research firstly to track the ways in which MPs are determined as key anthropogenic pollutants in terms of ecological risk and secondly to plan feasible policies under which the role of science and society in tackling this global issue in the future should be prioritized. In this study, a systematic theoretical, technical, and planning analysis was developed in alignment with a Scopus search deployed in the second half of the year 2021 and covering a wide chronological range (from 1970s onwards) and thematic contexts of analysis by using keywords and key phrases organized into two groups. The document results were graphically represented, revealing the main scientific focus of studies. Subsequently, our study investigated the quantitative assessment methods of MPs in marine environments, denoting the range of standard procedures applied for collecting and analyzing samples of water, bottom sediments, and coastal deposits. The technological part of the study includes the presentation of the relevant analytical techniques applied for MPs tracking and monitoring in water resources, determining the wide spectrum of plastic compounds traced. Of particular interest was the determination of environmental depletion and human implications caused, even by extremely low concentrations of MPs, for marine biota, posing potential risks to marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and food availability. Finally, the research proposed the challenges of actions needed to support scientific, industry, policy, and civil society communities to curb the ongoing flow of MPs and the toxic chemicals they contain into water resources, while rethinking the ways of plastics consumption by humanity.

The potential for applying “Nonviolent Communication” in conservation science

AbstractThe role of a conservation scientist has never been more challenging. Amidst the rapid degradation occurring across Earth's natural ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, conservation scientists must learn new and effective ways to build trust and engage with the wider community. Here, we discuss the potential utility of a particular communication technique, Nonviolent Communication (also known as Compassionate Communication or Collaborative Communication), in conservation science. Nonviolent Communication is a structured form of communication, developed in the 1960s by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, that seeks to foster interpersonal understanding and connection through communication of judgment‐free observations, recognition of people's feelings, needs and values, and requests for specific actions to meet those needs. It has delivered positive outcomes in diverse fields such as prisoner reform, health science, and social work, and holds great promise for conservation applications. While there is no single communication strategy that resonates with all people, we argue that Nonviolent Communication could be used by conservation scientists and practitioners when communicating with colleagues, politicians, and the general public about important and sometimes contentious environmental issues.

Balancing development with conservation

Virtually any form of human activity has an effect on the environment. The application of science and technology to agriculture has vastly improved its productivity, offsetting the crisis of inadequate food supply predicted by Malthus in 1798. At the same time, the application of science and technology to medicine and public health, has also enabled an ever-increasing world population. The economic systems prevalent in many countries which focus on economic development rather than sustainability, which fuel insatiable desires for ‘worldly goods’ among an increasing population has brought environmental issues to the very forefront of academic, social and political discourse throughout the world. There are many contentious environmental issues facing Sri Lanka today including mining for sand and mineral resources, utilization of wetlands and conservation of forests. Conservation of forests is a particularly sensitive issue where the demands of the local communities for land can be in conflict with national priorities. Sri Lanka’s forest cover has declined from over 80% a hundred and forty years ago to around 20% today. On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s population has more than tripled over the last 70 years. These changes have contributed to many environment related problems including the tragic ongoing human-elephant conflict. Quite apart from the importance of forests as ecosystems, current research also suggests that loss of forest cover promotes outbreaks of zoonotic and vector borne diseases. The solutions to many environmental issues lie in using a scientific approach coupled to the use of technology, supported by a legal and administrative framework. The cleaning up of the river Thames in England which was considered “dead” in the 1960’s to one which today has over a 100 fish species is a good example of what can be achieved with such an approach. At a more fundamental level, to be able to balance development with environmental conservation, a change in perspective and a change of direction is needed. Humans need to see themselves as a part of nature. The definition of the word “Natural” in the Oxford English Dictionary; “……not made, caused by or processed by human kind….” is indicative of the deep-seated perception we have that humans are not a part of nature. The change of direction required is to consider seriously the need for sustainability in planning any development activity, taking heed of Mahatma Gandhi’s view that “There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s needs, but not for man’s greed”.

Management Strategies of Free-Roaming Horses in Alberta Compared with Other Jurisdictions

Management strategies of free-roaming species are subject to polarizing debates around the world. This paper provides perspectives on free-roaming horse management strategies practiced in Alberta and compares them against national management strategies used in Canada and internationally (United States and Australia) to illustrate importance of science-based and socially inclusive management schemes. Owing to their pluralistic status as an introduced and culturally significant species of western Canada, free-roaming horse populations are a contentious environmental management issue in Alberta. Some stakeholders (e.g., indigenous people, horse and animal rights advocates) believe the government aims to extirpate free-roaming horses in favor of cattle grazing. However, the Albertan government and ranchers believe it is important to conserve and manage free-roaming horse populations for all land users while minimizing adverse environmental effects in sensitive foothill and mountain grasslands and associated riparian areas in Alberta. Despite this contention, a systematic approach that is mindful of the history and cultural value of horses to society is required to properly manage this species. Best management practices from case studies were used to compare against four main concerns identified from the literature of free-roaming horse management used in Alberta. Concerns include 1) cultural heritage values, 2) free-roaming (or wild) horse designation, 3) lack of scientifically rigorous population monitoring, and 4) societal considerations. Ecological effects of free-roaming horses and human dimensions of their management are discussed. It is recommended that lessons learned from other jurisdictions be applied to free-roaming horse management in Alberta to provide a more holistic framework as the government develops a “feral horse management strategy.”

Secondary Science and Mathematics Teachers’ Environmental Issues Engagement through Socioscientific Reasoning

Among the many responsibilities of K-12 educators is to promote the development of environmental literacy among their students. Contentious environmental issues are often considered socioscientific issues (SSI; e.g., climate change) in that they are rooted in science, but a myriad of non-scientific (e.g., cultural, political, economic, etc.) factors must be addressed if those issues are to be successfully resolved. Teachers often report being ill-equipped to address these non-scientific factors, which may be due to struggles with employing socioscientific reasoning (SSR). SSR includes understanding the complexity of SSI, engaging in perspective-taking and ongoing inquiry about SSI, employing skepticism when dealing with potentially biased information concerning SSI, and recognizing the affordances of science and non-science considerations in resolving those issues. In this study, mathematics and science teachers who engaged in an SSI-oriented professional development demonstrated a range of sophistication across the dimensions of SSR, with science teachers tending to exhibit more sophistication in their SSR than mathematics teachers. Herein, we share and discuss the results of the study, including the prompts and scoring rubrics with exemplars, which can be used to prepare teachers to teach about contentious SSI and enable them to more effectively instruct and evaluate their students when doing so.

Students' environmental NOS views, compassion, intent, and action: Impact of place‐based socioscientific issues instruction

AbstractPreparing students to achieve the lofty goal of functional scientific literacy entails addressing the normative and non‐normative facets of socioscientific issues (SSI) such as scientific processes, the nature of science (NOS) and diverse sociocultural perspectives. SSI instructional approaches have demonstrated some efficacy for promoting students' NOS views, compassion for others, and decision making. However, extant investigations appear to neglect fully engaging students through authentic SSI in several ways. These include: (i) providing SSI instruction through classroom approaches that are divorced from students' lived experiences; (ii) demonstrating a contextual misalignment between SSI and NOS (particularly evident in NOS assessments); and (iii) framing decision making and position taking analogously—with the latter being an unreliable indicator of how people truly act. The significance of the convergent parallel mixed‐methods investigation reported here is how it responds to these shortcomings through exploring how place‐based SSI instruction focused on the contentious environmental issue of wolf reintroduction in the Greater Yellowstone Area impacted sixty secondary students' NOS views, compassion toward those impacted by contentious environmental issues, and pro‐environmental intent. Moreover, this investigation explores how those perspectives associate with the students' pro‐environmental action of donating to a Yellowstone environmental organization. Results demonstrate that the students' NOS views became significantly more accurate and contextualized, with moderate to large effect, through the place‐based SSI instruction. Through that instruction, the students also exhibited significant gains in their compassion for nature and people impacted by contentious environmental issues and pro‐environmental intent. Further analyses showed that donating students developed and demonstrated significantly more robust and contextualized NOS views, compassion for people and nature impacted by contentious environmental issues, and pro‐environmental intent than their nondonating counterparts. Pedagogical implications include how place‐based learning in authentic settings could better prepare students to understand NOS, become socioculturally aware, and engage SSI across a variety of contexts.

Cities, municipal solid waste management, and climate change: Perspectives from the South

AbstractClimate change is arguably the most debated and contentious environmental issue today. Hitherto neglected, the role of cities is beginning to attract attention particularly within the academic milieu. Cities are acknowledged as development drivers but also considered major drivers of climate change as a result of activities associated with the release of harmful substances such as carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is noted as a major contributor to climate change due to the release of harmful substances during waste treatment and disposal activities. MSWM remains a challenge across the globe but particularly in the South where many cities lack regular waste collection and disposal services. The paper addresses the gap between the North and South through a critical analysis of the current global debate on cities, MSWM, and climate change. The paper reports that there are major differences between the North and South in almost all components of MSWM, from waste generation to treatment and disposal. A notable difference is that the shift in priority from local burdens to the global concern for climate has occurred mainly in the North. Furthermore, the priorities and needs of cities in the South are largely neglected in the global debate. A major example is the failure to acknowledge the role of the Informal Waste Sector even though it is a prominent feature of MSWM systems and a notable contributor to resource recovery in cities in the South. Lessons from the South suggest that climate change cannot be treated in isolation. Recognition of the role of the Informal Waste Sector is crucial because it introduces other important issues such as urban poverty, local economic development, urban governance and exclusionary practices, and citizenship rights. The paper suggests the need for a more inclusive approach if we are to have a truly global solution to climate change.

Exploring the intersections between local knowledge and environmental regulation: A study of shale gas extraction in Texas and Lancashire

Contemporary shale gas extraction, also known as ‘fracking’, has become one of the most contentious environmental issues facing Europe and North America. Academic and policy debates have hitherto focused principally on questions related to scientific disputes, risk perception, potential health impacts, and the wider economic and geo-political dimensions to energy security. This paper draws on extensive qualitative research in Texas and Lancashire, undertaken between 2012 and 2015, to explore how differing regulatory frameworks are shaped through highly localized discourses that include communities opposed to fracking. Whilst there are significant differences between these two examples, including the extent of environmental monitoring, the local context remains a pivotal arena within which the regulatory and technical dimensions to fracking are being contested and scrutinized. The two cases illustrate how community opposition has catalysed important processes that have enhanced understanding of the environmental and social impacts of shale gas extraction.

An Institutional and Opinion Analysis of Colorado’s Hydraulic Fracturing Disclosure Policy

Hydraulic fracturing and oil and natural gas development are possibly the most contentious energy and environmental issues to face the USA in the twenty-first century. One point of contention is the disclosure of fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing process. This paper analyses the Colorado 2011 policy requiring disclosure of hydraulic fracturing fluid information, considered one of the first comprehensive hydraulic fracturing disclosure policies in the country. We conduct an institutional analysis of the disclosure policy to understand how the policy establishes information flows and grants and restricts choices by targeted actors. We then analyse the opinions of people actively involved in hydraulic fracturing debates in Colorado to assess whether they view the disclosure policy as resolving problems. The institutional analysis illustrates how the policy allocates responsibilities in sending and receiving information and the opinion survey shows divergence in perceptions of its potential to resolve problems associated with chemical use or disclosure. Most respondents are in agreement that the new policy failed to build public trust of the hydraulic fracturing process.

Foreword to the tribute issue for Professor Peter Campbell

This special issue of Environmental Chemistry is dedicated to the career of Prof. Peter G. C. Campbell and was designed to coincide with his retirement from the Institut national de la recherche – Eau, terre, environment (INRS-ETE) at the end of 2015. Peter is probably best known for his work aiming to increase our quantitative understanding of how the toxicity of metals is modified by competing ions, pH, the presence of natural organic matter and water chemistry parameters. Indeed, his early critical synthesis and review of the free ion activity model has been cited over 1000 times and continues to serve as a reference paper for generations of young scientists entering the field. Nonetheless, Peter’s scientific career has also included many other seminal contributions that were made by first understanding the underlying chemical–biochemical basis for an environmental process and then applying that fundamental knowledge to gain practical insight into complex problems. For example, the method for inferring the speciation of trace elements in sediments using sequential extractions that Peter developed in collaboration with Prof. Andre Tessier has helped thousands of scientists to develop a better understanding of the geochemical behaviour of metals in aquatic ecosystems. Similarly, recent work in the field of metallomics has demonstrated how the uptake and subsequent internal handling of trace metals by aquatic organisms can be better understood by combining state-of-the art analytical tools with a fundamental physiological understanding. The contributions of Prof. Campbell in the fields of metal biogeochemistry and ecotoxicology are matched by only a few other individuals. On one hand, Peter has examined emerging and difficult questions, including the piggyback transport of metals into organisms by anion transporters, the biogeochemistry of metals in complex systems and the extremely complex role(s) of natural organic matter on trace metal behaviour. On the other hand, his work has had important but practical implications for industrial and governmental partners. Peter’s expert opinion and balanced scientific assessments are internationally sought and valuedhe is regularly solicited by both industrial partners and governmental organisations to solve contentious environmental issues related to metals. Without a doubt, his work has largely moved the risk assessment community to accept the need to take chemical speciation into account during ecotoxicity assessments. The methods that he employs have been developed and extensively tested in his own laboratory and often adopted worldwide. As demonstrated by these examples, Peter has always strongly favoured a multidisciplinary approach when solving complex problems, something that was facilitated by his continued interactions, locally and internationally, with diverse environmental scientists including biologists, geologists, modellers and engineers. Indeed, papers in this issue reflect both the multidisciplinary vision of Peter, as well as his capacity to influence a broad cross-section of environmental scientists. For example, metal uptake and toxicity was examined both in a review paper that Peter co-authored and in three original CSIRO PUBLISHING

Pressure to Reduce Methane Emissions Highlights the Need for Better Monitoring

Methane Emissions The US government is working on regulations to reduce oil industry methane emissions by more than 40% over the next 10 years. Meanwhile, it is making a large investment in research seeking reliable ways to measure how much of the methane in the atmosphere is from natural gas production versus other sources of the gas that can lead to global warming and smog. “We can tell how dirty the air is. What is really tricky is ‘where it is coming from.’ ” said Susan Stuver, a senior research scientist at the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, who was among the first persons to begin gathering emissions data in unconventional gas plays. There are a growing number of estimates published and they vary wildly, with studies estimating natural gas losses ranging from 1% to 7% of US production, according to a summary in a US Department of Energy research grant. The methods, the math, and the politics of methane measurement are complex and changing. What once was an economic question facing the natural gas business—how to cut losses of a valuable product—has become a contentious environmental issue of how to reduce emissions of a gas that is able to warm the Earth far more than carbon dioxide? The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that nearly 29% of all methane emissions in 2012 came from oil and gas industry activity. It is the largest source, followed by enteric fermentation, at 25%, which is the digestive process used by grazing animals, such as cattle, producing methane as a gassy byproduct. Those animals also produce manure, which is responsible for an added 9% of methane emitted. Other estimates suggest far higher industry emission levels. That matters to the oil and gas business because those numbers will guide future emissions rule making. The public furor several years ago over whether fracturing polluted water supplies led to studies of how unconventional exploration and production (E&P) affects air quality. Some high-profile academic studies said methane leaking from gas operations are far higher than thought, challenging industry claims that natural gas is the cheaper, cleaner fuel option.

Segmenting and Targeting Irrigators’ Preferences Regarding Proposed Water Transfers

Sharing water is a contentious environmental issue. Irrigation controls the majority of water resources, but international experiences illustrate that irrigators are reluctant to share their water. How can resource managers achieve acceptance of water-sharing policies to meet the changing needs of society? This study focuses on strategies for selling a political agenda related to water transfers from agriculture. A survey was conducted with 275 irrigators in the western Canadian province of Alberta to assess how attributes that define a water transfer influence irrigators’ acceptance rates. Results indicated that the purpose of the transfer was the most important attribute. Six segments emerged based on perceptions of attributes. Greenies, Water Savers, and Efficiency Savers considered environmental attributes, whereas Personal Gainers and Municipal Friends considered personal and municipal attributes. Nay Sayers rejected transfers regardless of attributes. These results provide recommendations for resource managers attempting to persuade irrigators to share their water.

The problems with a ‘fact’-focused approach in environmental communication: the case of environmental risk information about tidal flat developments in Japan

One of the main approaches used in communicating environmental issues to citizens is conveying ‘factual’ information about a particular environment. However, despite previous research and recommendations made by critical environmental educators, there still seems to be a belief that the more ‘factual’ information one can convey, the more citizens will become aware of the issue, and this will prompt them to change their behaviours. In this article, I will argue that continuing with a ‘fact’-focused practice in Japan and elsewhere could be problematic for three key reasons: (1) it ignores diversity in the ‘facts’ provided to people; (2) it reinforces the ‘hierarchy of knowledge’; and (3) it ignores the ‘myth of nature’ among information receivers and senders. Key recommendations for incorporating a critical environmental education approach include utilising locally available environmental information on contentious environmental issues; investigating particular terminology used and missing information (including tacit knowledge); and encouraging critical learning about statistics and pictorial representations.

Challenging the One-Way Paradigm for More Effective Science Communication: A Critical Review of Two Public Campaigns Addressing Contentious Environmental Issues

This article examines two large-scale public communication campaigns to explore the appropriateness and effectiveness of using one-way communication in contentious environmental issues. The findings show while one-way communication can be successfully employed in contentious issues, it is not appropriate for all contexts and may contribute to tensions between stakeholders. It concludes that agencies engaging in large-scale public communication campaigns involving complex and contentious environmental issues must understand the contexts in which they operate before determining their communication approach so affected communities can be both informed and engaged.

Social Contagion of Risk Perceptions in Environmental Management Networks

An important requisite for improving risk communication practice related to contentious environmental issues is having a better theoretical understanding of how risk perceptions function in real-world social systems. Our study applied Scherer and Cho's social network contagion theory of risk perception (SNCTRP) to cormorant management (a contentious environmental management issue) in the Great Lakes Basin to: (1) assess contagion effects on cormorant-related risk perceptions and individual factors believed to influence those perceptions and (2) explore the extent of social contagion in a full network (consisting of interactions between and among experts and laypeople) and three "isolated" models separating different types of interactions from the full network (i.e., expert-to-expert, layperson-to-layperson, and expert-to-layperson). We conducted interviews and administered questionnaires with experts (e.g., natural resource professionals) and laypeople (e.g., recreational and commercial anglers, business owners, bird enthusiasts) engaged in cormorant management in northern Lake Huron (n = 115). Our findings generally support the SNCTRP; however, the scope and scale of social contagion varied considerably based on the variables (e.g., individual risk perception factors), actors (i.e., experts or laypeople), and interactions of interest. Contagion effects were identified more frequently, and were stronger, in the models containing interactions between experts and laypeople than in those models containing only interactions among experts or laypeople.

Quota discarding and distributive justice: The case of the under-10m fishing fleet in Sussex, England

Abstract Marine fish discarding has become a contentious environmental issue, but little attention has been paid to the moral grievances that sometimes underlie discarding practices. This article explores such a moral grievance through a case study of the under-10 m fishery in Sussex, England, where discarding of cod (Gadus morhua) has become a highly charged issue, skippers blaming it on unjust quota allocations. The moral claim to a greater quota allocation is analysed using two conceptions of distributive justice, entitlement and desert. The conclusion reached is that the under-10 m fleet’s entitlement arguments for a higher quota are weaker than their desert arguments, but that entitlement arguments weigh more heavily than desert arguments with government when it allocates quota.

Gods and Devils in the Details: Marine Pollution, Radioactive Waste, and an Environmental Regime circa 1972

Contentious environmental issues confronting us today, such as the ratification of a global agreement on greenhouse gas emissions, have a policy lineage through the United Nations back to the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm, Sweden. There are deeper roots of environmental consciousness in intellectual thought, political activism, and international treaties to protect natural resources,1 but for many historians and policymakers, global environmental governance began at Stockholm. The United Nations Environment Programme, with its mantra of sustainable development, the Earth Summit of 1992, and the Framework Convention on Climate Change can be considered further stages in this history. In fitful bursts along the way, legal “regimes” were established by treaty to act as custodians of the environment on a regional or global scale.2 One of the Stockholm meeting's tangible outcomes, the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (also called the London Dumping Convention), stands prominently among these regimes. The convention for the first time placed radioactive waste dumping under international law: it banned dumping high-level waste at sea, ostensibly enjoining countries such as the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, and many others.3