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Issue 14.1 Abstracts

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Nuclear Waste and Public Worries: Public Perceptions of the United States' Major Nuclear Weapons Legacy

By Michael Greenberg, Karen Lowrie, Joanna Burger, Charles Powers, Michael Gochfeld, and Henry Mayer

We surveyed 1351 residents who lived near six U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) former nuclear weapon sites using random digit dialing and stratified random sampling in order to determine which risks most worried them and the predictors of their worries. Respondents' greatest concerns were threats to their drinking water, transportation accidents, and worker exposures. The strongest predictors of their worries were concern about the quality of the local environment and the feeling that the federal and state governments were not doing enough to protect it. Many distrusted DOE's communications to them, and they tended to be relatively poor and African American, women, not college educated, and admitted to little knowledge about the site. The results were largely, but not completely, consistent with the risk perception and trust literatures, and they pose a challenge to the DOE to establish an effective partnership with diverse communities that will allow the DOE to manage some of these risks in perpetuity at these sites.

Keywords: worry, risk perception, nuclear waste, Department of Energy

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Nativity and Environmental Risk Perception: An Empirical Study of Native-Born and Foreign-Born Residents

By Francis O. Adeola

This study examines the major differences between native-born and foreign-born residents of the United States on measures of environmental risk perception and risk attitudes. Hypotheses derived from the cultural theory of risk were tested. Discriminant analysis of the General Social Survey (GSS) and International Social Survey Program (ISSP) data was conducted using environmental and technological risk perception and attitudes modules. The results indicate that foreign-born respondents are more risk averse and skeptical about sources of information about environmental risks than their native-born counterparts. While there are some points of agreement, these groups exhibit dissimilar environmental risk perception on several measures. Native-born respondents scored significantly lower on risk perception and attitudes toward technological and environmental risks relative to their foreign-born counterparts. Methodological and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords: environmental risks, risk perception, general social survey (GSS), discriminant analysis, risk society, environmental inequity, cultural theory, trust, environmental justice, and psychometric paradigm

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Barriers to Environmental Concern

By Andras Takacs-Santa

A high level of environmental concern is likely to be an important prerequisite of long-lasting pro-environmental behavior, and thus long-lasting decrease in environmental impact. However, several barriers hinder its establishment. This review essay aims to systematically summarize the most important of these barriers. The 21 barriers can be divided into two groups: one is related to the obtainment of information on environmental problems (subgroups: (1) direct, sensory obtainment of information and (2) the obtainment of mediated information), and the other is related to the mental appraisal processes concerning environmental problems (subgroups: the appraisal of (1) the severity and probability of the threat, (2) responsibility and affectedness and (3) coping). The accurate identification of the barriers hindering the rise of environmental concern is essential in removing or reducing them.

Keywords: environmental concern, environmental attitudes, environmental risk perception, pro-environmental behavior

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The AIDS Epidemic in a Low-Income Country: Ethiopia

By Helmut Kloos, Damen Haile Mariam, and Bernt Lindtjorn

This review describes the evolving AIDS epidemic in Ethiopia and examines its driving forces within the socioeconomic, cultural and political context. The early concentrated epidemic, which infected mostly high-risk males and commercial sex workers has evolved in recent years into a generalized epidemic affecting all segments of the population. Whereas the pervasive impact of societal poverty persists and recent political unrest poses a new threat to prevention and control efforts, the influence of past wars, gender inequality, and various harmful attitudes and practices in HIV transmission and spread is declining, apparently due to recent awareness, prevention and control initiatives and programs. Spread of HIV from urban to rural areas is facilitated by population movements, widespread prostitution in towns, and lack of education.

More research on transmission patterns and better HIV and behavioral surveillance systems are needed, especially in rural areas and among different socioeconomic and ethnic groups, to more fully determine the dynamics of the epidemic in Ethiopia 's diverse population and to develop effective and sustainable interventions.

Keywords: AIDS epidemic, behavioral, socioeconomic, cultural and political factors, Ethiopia

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Gender, Tourism and Participatory Appraisals at the Corumbau Marine Extractive Reserve, Brazil

By Regina C. Di Ciommo

The Corumbau Marine Extractive Reserve was created in a region of rich biodiversity, located in the South of Bahia State , Brazil , to meet the revindications of artisanal fishermen in a context of increasing predatory industrial fisheries. The aim of the Marine Extractive Reserve is to improve the sustainability of fisheries stocks and the economy of artisanal fishermen's families, protecting the local biodiversity for the locals' collective use. However, at Corumbau the natives are facing social problems that have increased due to tourism growth. The present research contributes to the Management Plan in sectors that are crucial to assess the aspirations and subjective aspects related to the natives' daily life at individual, familiar and communitary levels. The Participatory Appraisal with a Gender Equity Perspective (PAGP) was applied to five communities at RESEX Corumbau, showing, by gender, the greatest problems artisanal fisheries' families are facing. Tourism is growing in the area, reflecting the residents different and contradictory interests. It can develop commerce and jobs, but also intensify some social and environmental problems in this area.

Keywords: protected areas, Marine extractive reserves, gender, artisanal fisheries, participatory appraisal, tourism

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Indicators for Measuring the Success of Nepal's Community Forestry Program: A Local Perspective

By Ridish K. Pokharel and Murari Suvedi

This paper explores locally agreed upon indicators to determine the success of Nepal 's community forestry program. A workshop for community forest user groups (CFUGs) representatives and local forestry professionals was organized to develop the indicators. An interview schedule was developed to solicit CFUG members' views on the identified indicators. A stratified random sample of CFUG members was taken, and 487 members were randomly selected for personal interviews. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze data. Findings show that access to fuel wood, fodder and timber; amount of community funds; incidence of forest fire; use of compost; women's participation in forestry meetings; forest status; and quality of drinking water were the most often agreed-upon indicators to determine the success of the community forestry program. There tends to be congruency between the local people's perspectives and the views of scientific communities on many indicators of the success of the community forestry program.

Keywords: community forestry, evaluation indicators, community forest user group, Nepal

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Voices of My Ancestors, Their Bones Talk to Me: How to Balance US Forest Service Rules and Regulations with Traditional Values and Culture of American Indians

By Joseph P. Flood and Leo H. McAvoy

This study investigated the use of National Forests by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation in Montana . Although public lands in the interior American west often surround Tribal lands, managers know little about how the Forest Service (FS) rules and regulations impact the traditional values and culture of American Indians. Interviews were conducted in 2001 with a sample of 60 enrolled Tribal members. Results indicate that Tribal members participate in a variety of outdoor activities in national forests: hunting, fishing, berry and mushroom picking, camping, hiking, and collecting medicinal plants. Perceived racism from both managers and the visiting public, coupled with feelings of resentment at being pushed out of their aboriginal lands has created distrust among Tribal members. In order to preserve and respect Tribal culture and values, FS managers need to approach Tribal members with mutual trust and respect according to Tribal customs before requesting input and expecting open dialogue.

Keywords: American Indians, cultural values, recreation, natural resource managers

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A River Runs Through It: A College-Community Collaboration for Watershed-Based Regional Planning

By Richard J. Borden, Kenneth S. Cline, Travis Hussey, Gordon Longsworth, and Isabel Mancinelli

It is estimated that humanity now uses more than one third of all accessible freshwater within the global water cycle. The complexity of water related issues has led the Environmental Protection Agency – and many other organizations – to encourage adoption of watershed-based regional planning as one way to address the balance of development and environmental needs. College of the Atlantic, located on Mt. Desert Island on the coast of Maine , is in the gateway to Acadia National Park . The area receives almost five million visitors a year and exemplifies the ecological and social infrastructure challenges faced by many communities. Within this regional context, the college has developed a collaborative watershed-based curriculum and educational partnership involving a multiplicity of community organizations and leaders. A significant part of this project has been the creation of a watershed coalition – The Union River Watershed Coalition (URWC) – that has successfully brought together a diverse cross-section of stakeholders, citizens and organizations throughout Downeast Maine . Digital mapping technologies— in the form of geographic information systems (GIS), publicly-accessible databases, and other partnership projects—have become critical features for integrating economic development, ecosystem viability and cultural values. Lessons from the current project have applicability for collaborative approaches by other educational institutions, watershed regions and communities elsewhere.

Keywords: watershed planning, community collaboration, public participation, geographical information systems, human ecology education

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Animals, Agency, and Class: Writing the History of Animals from Below

By Jason Hribal

This essay is an historical exploration of the nexus between animals, agency, and class. More significantly, it seeks to place the agency of horses, cows, sheep, pigs, etc. into the process of historical writing. This essay is divided into three sections. The first is a critique of the current state of the historiography of animal-studies. The second, ‘A Product of an Unspoken Negotiation,' considers how animals themselves have shaped their own lives and labors. The third, ‘The Evolution of Vegetarianism and Animal-Rights,' explores how a class relationship developed between humans and other animals. Moreover, this section demonstrates how this solidarity then led to the creation of social change.

Keywords : animals, agency, class, animal-rights, vegetarianism

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