Empowered native community, modified SIA: The case of hydaburg, alaska

This paper reviews a social impact assessment of Hydaburg, Alaska, to illustrate the modifications of non-NEPA SIAs in response to “empowered” Native communities. Hydaburg has been influenced by three organizations designed to promote greater self-determination: the Native Village Corporation, a Native municipal government, and the Native Sovereignty Movement. The Hydaburg SIA incorporated community-based research, cultural assessment, and advocacy mitigation to accommodate the demands of this“empowerment”. The paper suggest that modified SIAs of this sort are likely to become more prevalent as self-determination among Native communities increases.     

Reducing the harms associated with risk assessments

Risk assessments are the intellectual products of dedicated public health and environmental professionals. Like many other products, risk assessments carry with them the potential for both good and harm. This paper briefly examines some of the harms to which risk assessments have contributed, and then suggests that the legal “duty to warn” doctrine offers a logical and practical way to reduce some of these harms. The paper suggests concepts that could be incorporated into warnings accompanying every formal risk assessment as routine “boiler plate” addenda, just as other potentially harmful products, such as lawn mowers and cook stoves, are accompanied by warnings. Finally, the paper briefly examines the “Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for Environmental Professionals” (promulgated by the National Association of Environmental Professionals) and shows that the suggested warnings are consistent with recommended practices for environmental professionals.     

Environmental design implementation in Taiwan's industries

This study investigated Taiwan's industries to identify the characteristics of companies most advanced in environmental design. Thirty design principles in five categories were used to define advanced environmental design. The five categories are: use of raw materials, use of energy, design for recyclability, product life cycle assessment, and packaging optimization. We found that of the 30 design principles only eight were applied consistently by Taiwanese manufacturers. Most effort was given to the “use of energy” category. The most advanced environmental design was found at large companies—those with over 2000 employees, 3 billion in capital, and/or 3 billion in annual sales.     

The precautionary principle stimulus for solutions- and alternatives-based environmental policy

The precautionary principle is increasingly discussed in debates over appropriate measures to address complex and uncertain risks. The principle has generally been defined as having two main components: preventive action in the face of uncertainty and reversing the burden of proof. In isolation, these two components would suggest that precaution is primarily reactive to potential problems rather than proactive. More recent statements have suggested that thorough assessment of alternatives is critical to the effective implementation of the precautionary principle. Alternatives assessment—also referred to as options analysis and facility planning—redirects environmental science and policy debates from characterizing problems to identifying solutions. In this commentary, we examine the rationale for a focus on alternatives assessment in implementing the precautionary principle. We examine methods and examples of alternatives assessment, as well as opportunities for the principle's integration in environmental policy. We argue that a greater focus on alternatives assessment can enhance the ability of decision makers to make truly precautionary decisions, stimulate innovation toward sustainable production, and more effectively place burdens on to those creating risks. Such a focus forms an essential component of a shift from “problem-based” environmental policy to “solutions-based” policy. This shift requires adequate research resources, tools, and a government commitment to a new paradigm of environmental protection. We conclude that we will only reach the goal of sustainable production if we change our environmental protection focus from figuring out how bad the situation will be to seeking alternatives to problematic activities and designing the conditions for a more sustainable future.     

Building consensus on divisive issues: a case study of the Yukon wolf management team

This article presents a case study of a successful effort to reach agreement on one of the most intractable environmental issues of our time: wolf management. This case is unusual in several ways. In this case, the members of the negotiating team were ordinary citizens rather than leaders of organized groups. This team was given an unusually high level of authority to write the plan as they saw fit; the agency pledged to implement “whatever they came up with.” The agency convened the process, but agency personnel were not members of the team and attended only when they were invited. The team members were able to reach agreement on this tough issue even though polar opposites were at the table—one who felt that wolves are a “spiritual essence” and another who felt that, as he put it, “wolves, coyotes, and cockroaches have a lot in common”. They produced a detailed plan that addressed all the issues in just 5 months. Another unusual aspect of this effort is that the final agreement does not list the team members. They explained that they wanted their plan to “stand alone” and be judged based on what it said, not on who was involved.However, just after their agreement was completed, a new, pro-wolf control government was elected that refused to endorse the plan. While the government gave various reasons for not ratifying the plan, more and more diverse interest groups came out in support for both the plan and the process that created it. Eventually, overwhelming public support forced the government to sign and implement the plan as written. This demonstrates that, while it is important for a team to seek the sanction of decision-makers, it is perhaps even more important for the general public to see the effort and the final agreement as fair. Strong support from a broad spectrum of the public can help win the necessary political support.In addition to discussing the unorthodox aspects of this consensus-building effort, this article also attempts to give the reader a front row seat to this process by using the informants' own words—words rich in detail, brimming with color and spoken straight from the heart. Certainly their experience dispels any notion that such efforts are simply a matter of following a recipe. During the process, members of the negotiating team experienced the entire gamut of emotions—anger, defeat, humor and, finally, a genuine sense of pride. As team member Patty Denison put it, “We showed that a random group of people could work together and do something truly monumental.”     

Network and system diagrams revisited: Satisfying CEA requirements for causality analysis

Published guidelines for Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA) have called for the identification of cause-and-effect relationships, or causality, challenging researchers to identify methods that can possibly meet CEA's specific requirements. Together with an outline of these requirements from CEA key literature, the various definitions of cumulative effects point to the direction of a method for causality analysis that is visually-oriented and qualitative. This article consequently revisits network and system diagrams, resolves their reported shortcomings, and extends their capabilities with causal loop diagramming methodology. The application of the resulting composite causality analysis method to three Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) case studies appears to satisfy the specific requirements of CEA regarding causality. Three “moments” are envisaged for the use of the proposed method: during the scoping stage, during the assessment process, and during the stakeholder participation process.     

Siting a liquid hazardous waste incinerator: Experience with California's tanner act

The siting of hazardous waste facilities is complex, controversial, time-consuming, expensive, and sometimes impossible. Pressures for and against these facilities are immense. California is developing the “Tanner process,” a one-stop concept in which a single agency serves as the focal point (lead agency) for all the state institutions involved. In this paper I review the experience gained to date with the proposal for the largest liquid toxic waste incinerator proposed for California. I present positive and negative aspects of the process, and draw some policy conclusions. I explore a key policy goal: the search for win/win solutions such that both the community and industry come out ahead environmentally and economically. The experience, especially the approach to negotiation/discussion, is a model for possible use elsewhere in California and the nation.     

Planning for sustainability at the local government level

While the primary objective of the 1992 Earth Summit was to generate new commitments from national governments on global environmental issues, one of the most tangible outcomes of the summit was to focus international attention on the role of cities as central actors in the Earth's ecosystem. As a result, the recent UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) extended its focus, originally on housing only, to sustainable human settlements. The final product of the meeting, the Habitat Agenda, provides the greatest recognition ever offered by the United Nations to the role of local governments in the sustainable development process. The success of the Habitat Agenda will be defined by the ability of local governments to effectively adopt its recommendations.This article is a “report from the field” on local adaptations of environmental assessment andplanning procedures in order to implement the various components of the sustainable development mandate.     

Local agenda 21: Practical experiences and emerging issues from the South

The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) actively participated in the formulation of chapter 28 titled “Local Agenda 21” of the Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development, often called Agenda 21. To support the process of developing and implementing Local Agenda 21 at the municipal level, ICLEI launched an international action-research project called the LA 21 Model Communities Program in early 1994. In November 1995, all the municipalities participating in this program came together to review and share their experiences. This article is based specifically on the experiences of the municipalities from the South.     

Coping with “latent time bombs” in public policy

If government is confronted with “latent time bombs”—potentially major, sudden disasters such as earthquakes, droughts, floods, or financial collapse—when will it react? This exploratory study's hypothesis is that government is more likely to address threats after they actually occur, rather than before they might occur, i.e., the propensity is not to intervene. This is counter to the observed propensity of governments to intervene against the perceived threats posed by nonsudden environmental risks, e.g., hazardous substances. This study contrasts government's differing responses to latent time bombs and hazardous substances. It attributes the difference in response to the differing visibility of intervention costs and the differing distribution of these costs. In the case of hazardous substances, the propensity to intervene may be accounted for by the availability of an intervention mode, i.e., regulation, whose costs are difficult to discern and are spread thinly over the entire population. The hypothesis is explored with the help of three case studies of confronting latent time bombs in Israel.     

Green chemistry

A grand challenge facing government, industry, and academia in the relationship of our technological society to the environment is reinventing the use of materials. To address this challenge, collaboration from an interdisciplinary group of stakeholders will be necessary. Traditionally, the approach to risk management of materials and chemicals has been through inerventions intended to reduce exposure to materials that are hazardous to health and the environment. In 1990, the Pollution Prevention Act encouraged a new tact-elimination of hazards at the source. An emerging approach to this grand challenge seeks to embed the diverse set of environmental perspectives and interests in the everyday practice of the people most responsible for using and creating new materials—chemists. The approach, which has come to be known as Green Chemistry, intends to eliminate intrinsic hazard itself, rather than focusing on reducing risk by minimizing exposure. This chapter addresses the representation of downstream environmental stakeholder interests in the upstream everyday practice that is reinventing chemistry and its material inputs, products, and waste as described in the “12 Principles of Green Chemistry”.     

Not so Black and White: environmental justice and cumulative impact assessments

A growing number of scientific studies in recent years have investigated disparate exposure to ecological hazards in American society. Working from an environmental justice perspective, this body of research consistently reveals that poor communities of color are most likely to bear a disproportionate burden of negative externalities. These studies utilize a wide range of research methodologies, including various indicators of ecological hazards (e.g., proximity to waste sites, industrial emissions, ambient air quality), but few, if any, utilize composite measures to approximate cumulative environmental impact. Consequently, the environmental justice (EJ) literature is characterized by a failure to effectively measure overall impact from an extensive range of ecological hazards. Limitations on available data make this a serious problem for present and future studies. We argue that cumulative measures of environmental impact can play an important role in furthering our understanding of environmental injustices in the United States. In this study of Massachusetts, we develop and implement such a cumulative measure of negative environmental impacts. By controlling for the density and severity of ecological hazardous sites and facilities within every community in the state, we demonstrate that exposure patterns take a generally linear distribution when analyzed by race and class. So, while our results reaffirm previous findings that low-income communities and communities of color bear significantly greater ecological burdens than predominantly White and more affluent communities, our findings also suggest that environmental injustices exist on a remarkably consistent continuum for nearly all communities. In other words, as the minority population and lower-income composition of a community increases, correspondingly, so does cumulative exposure to environmental hazards. In this respect, communities which are more racially mixed and of moderate income status that are not typically identified as meeting EJ criteria (in demographic terms) also face more significant ecological hazards. Thus, the strict bifurcation of communities into categories of Environmental Justice and Non-Environmental Justice is problematic, and poses a serious dilemma for policy makers, public health officials, and community activists. To overcome this challenge requires the adoption of a cumulative environmental justice impact assessment (CEJIA), which in addition to the demographic characteristics of a community, also takes into account the total environmental burden and related health impacts upon residents. Furthermore, through the adoption of the precautionary principle, source reduction, and alternative forms of “cleaner” production, environmental justice advocates must work for policies which reduce the environmental threat for the full range of communities, as well as their own.     

Evaluating the impact of HIA on urban reconstruction decision-making. Who manages whose risks?

Practitioners and academic researchers increasingly look to evaluation of health impact assessment (HIA) to improve its practice, its efficiency and its legitimacy. Evaluation is also used to account to policy-makers, who express doubts that the benefits of HIA justify its costs. Until recently evaluation of HIA focused on instrument design and procedures but now the focus needs to shift to analysis of the interaction of HIA and decision-making. Multiple case studies have been applied to identify the conditions in which HIA produces the desired benefits. These studies used analytical concepts derived from the literature on evaluation, knowledge utilization, science of sociology and knowledge management.This paper describes a case study in which the strategic motives of the decision-makers affected the impact of an HIA. This HIA comprised of a quantitative environmental model ‘City & Environment’ that was used to assess environmental health impacts of an urban reconstruction plan in a Dutch city. The evaluation of the HIA shows that the decision to follow the recommendations of the HIA was part of a damage control strategy. The more HIA goals deviate from the policy problem and the less HIA is embedded in institutional procedures, then the more HIA impact will be subject to strategic decision-making behaviour. Appropriate cognitive and social strategies are needed to avoid ‘negative learning’ in those the HIA seeks to influence.     

The application of Geographical Information Systems to determine environmental impact significance

This paper presents a new methodology for impact assessment—SIAM (Spatial Impact Assessment Methodology)—which is based on the assumption that the importance of environmental impacts is dependent, among other things, on the spatial distribution of the effects and of the affected environment. The information generated by the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in impact identification and prediction stages of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is used in the assessment of impact significance by the computation of a set of impact indices. For each environmental component (e.g., air pollution, water resources, biological resources), impact indices are calculated based on the spatial distribution of impacts. A case study of impact evaluation of a proposed highway in Central Portugal illustrates the application of the methodology and shows its capabilities to be adapted to the particular characteristics of a given EIA problem.     

HIA, the next step: Defining models and roles

If HIA is to be an effective instrument for optimising health interests in the policy making process it has to recognise the different contests in which policy is made and the relevance of both technical rationality and political rationality. Policy making may adopt a rational perspective in which there is a systematic and orderly progression from problem formulation to solution or a network perspective in which there are multiple interdependencies, extensive negotiation and compromise, and the steps from problem to formulation are not followed sequentially or in any particular order. Policy problems may be simple with clear causal pathways and responsibilities or complex with unclear causal pathways and disputed responsibilities. Network analysis is required to show which stakeholders are involved, their support for health issues and the degree of consensus.From this analysis three models of HIA emerge. The first is the phases model which is fitted to simple problems and a rational perspective of policymaking. This model involves following structured steps. The second model is the rounds (Echternach) model that is fitted to complex problems and a network perspective of policymaking. This model is dynamic and concentrates on network solutions taking these steps in no particular order. The final model is the “garbage can” model fitted to contexts which combine simple and complex problems. In this model HIA functions as a problem solver and signpost keeping all possible solutions and stakeholders in play and allowing solutions to emerge over time. HIA models should be the beginning rather than the conclusion of discussion the worlds of HIA and policymaking.     

Environmental Impact Assessment of the Mining and Concentration Activities in the Kola Peninsula, Russia by Multidate Remote Sensing

On the Kola Peninsula, the mining and concentration industry exerts anthropogenic impact on the environment. Tailing dumps cause airborne pollution through dusting, and waterborne pollution due to direct dumping and accidental releases. The objectives were: (1) to analyse multidate satellite imagesfor 1964–1996 to assess the environmental pollution from themining and concentration activity in the Kola in temporal perspective; (2) to evaluate remote sensing methods for integrated environmental impact assessment. The area of mining and industrial sites steadily expands and amounted to 94 km² in 1996. The polluted water surface amounted to at least 150 km² through dumping in 1978 and to 106 km² in1986 due to dusting. Thus, the impact from the mining and concentration activity should be reconsidered as more significant than it was officially anticipated. In the past the main mechanism of pollution wasdirect dumping into the lakes. Currently and in future, airborne pollution after dusting storms will dominate. The effective recultivation of the tailing dumps will be a long-term process. For effective assessment of impacts from the mining and concentration industry, remote sensing methods should be complemented by in-situ measurements, fieldwork, and mathematical modelling.     

Air-quality Prognosis, for the Implementation of Abatement Strategies over Large Urban Areas

State-of-the-art approaches for urban air-quality characterisation have several drawbacks due to apriori assumptions and/or due to inherent limitations of the concept utilised. For the evaluation of abatement scenarios it is either necessary to embark on extensive monitoring campaigns or to consistently apply numerical models for atmospheric dispersion. The 'ENVISOR' methodology applied here is a mixture of the two approaches. It forecasts pollutant concentrations during real episodes and assesses the impact from the construction of a new highway across a large urban domain of 100×100 km2. Data from an extensive monitoring network are used to identify real modelling periods and for validating the modelling simulations. The selected periods are aiming to the assessment of 'annual mean' or 'episodic' conditions. These periods are short-listed according to the abatement scenario under consideration. This approach yields accurate forecasts for the concentration of pollutants after extensive validation tests extended over the whole domain. It is foreseen that the impact from the highway construction will be minimal for photochemical pollution whereas, higher impact will result for inert pollutants due to additional emissions from the highway.     

Public-Health Impact of Outdoor Air Pollution in Russia

Based on the well-known approaches to risk assessment, estimates of the number of attributable deaths caused by atmospheric air pollution in the towns of Russia have been obtained. The data of daily monitoring of air pollution in 1993 and 1998 carried out by Rosgidromet (Weather Service of Russia) were used for assessment. The epidemiology-based exposure–response function for a 10 g/m³ increase in particulate matter PM₁₀ was used to assess the attributable number of cases of deaths in Russia. The EPA approach was applied to derive the risk of carcinogenesis caused by outdoor carcinogens controlled by Rosgidromet. In the present paper, it has been shown that up to 219–233 thousands of premature deaths or 15–17% out of the total annual mortality might be caused by air pollution in Russia. The data are given on a possible contribution of various carcinogens controlled by Rosgidromet at the stations of constant observation to the total mortality caused by atmospheric pollution. On the whole, the number of people that fell ill with cancer as a result of exposure to all the carcinogens present in the atmosphere can be assessed within the range of 2000–4000 humans. This assessment estimates the public-health impacts of air pollution. At the present time, we have no information concerning the degree of universality of the exposure–response function for PM₁₀ and its sensitivity to a change in social-demographic indicators. Nevertheless, the assessments, given in the present work, make it possible to obtain important information concerning the possible scale of health-outcome due to atmospheric pollution for the population of Russia.     

Multi-criteria assessment of socio-environmental aspects in shrinking cities. Experiences from eastern Germany

Demographic change and economic decline produce modified urban land use pattern and densities. Compared to the beginning of the 90s after the German reunification, nowadays massive housing and commercial vacancies followed by demolition and perforation come to pass in many cities of the former GDR. In consequence, a considerable surplus of urban brownfields has been created. Furthermore, the decline in the urban fabric affects social infrastructure and urban greenery of local neighbourhoods. Here, urban planning enters into ‘uncharted territory’ since it needs to assess the socio-environmental impact of shrinkage.In order to carry out such an evaluation quantitatively, a multi-criteria assessment scheme (MCA) was developed and applied. Firstly, we identified infrastructure and land use changes related to vacancy and demolition. Secondly, demolition scenarios for the coming 20 years were applied in order to give an idea for a long-term monitoring approach at the local district level. A multi-criteria indicator matrix quantifies the socio-environmental impact on both urban greenery and residents. Using it, we set demolition scenarios against urban ‘quality of life’ targets. Empirical evidence comes from Leipzig, in eastern Germany, a representative case study for urban shrinkage processes.The results show that shrinkage implies socio-environmental changes of residential livelihoods, however, does not simply increase or decrease the overall urban quality of life. The integrated assessment of all indicators identifies environmental and social opportunities, as well as the challenges a shrinking city is faced with.     

Long term monitoring of pollutants in eggs of Yellow-legged Herring Gull from Capraia island (Tuscan Archipelago)

Chlorinated hydrocarbons (hexachlorobenzene, lindane, ppDDE, polychlorinated biphenyls) and trace elements (Hg, Se, Cd, Pb) were determined in eggs of Yellow-legged Herring Gull (Larus cachinnans) collected in an island of the Tyrrhenian Sea during the period 1981–1986. PCBs levels vary on the average between 30.4g g^–1 d.w. in 1981 to 56.1 g g^–1 d.w. in 1983. The capillary chromatograms revealed the presence of about 30 somers of PCBs without significant variations in the eggs of the same year; more than 50% of the residues is made up only three isomers: the 22'44'55', the 22'344'5' and the 22'344'55'. Average DDE residues were 7–8 times lower than those of PCBs and declined during the period (from 9.2 g g^–1 d.w. in 1981 to 4.5 g g^–1 d.w. in 1986). Cadmium and lead are present in low concentrations. The average levels of mercury and selenium are around 2–2.5 g g^–1 d.w., and a cumulative correlation, on a molar basis, exists between these two elements.