Civil society research and Marcellus Shale natural gas development: results of a survey of volunteer water monitoring organizations

Jalbert, Kirk; Kinchy, Abby; Perry, Simona L.

doi:10.1007/s13412-013-0155-7

Cited by 38 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Social-scientific literature on fracking is also emerging, with some studies focused on political and media discourse (Vasi et al 2015;Upham et al 2015;Hilson 2015;Hudgins and Poole 2014;Jaspal, Turner, and Nerlich 2014); state responses (Carter and Eaton 2016;Crowe, Ceresola, and Silva 2015a); civil society organizational responses (Neville and Weinthal 2016;Dodge 2015;Vesalon and Cretan 2015;Jalbert, Kinchy, and Perry 2014) and attitude studies (Crowe et al 2015b;Boudet et al 2016Boudet et al , 2014Heuer and Lee 2014;Kriesky et al 2013;Theodori 2009). A smaller set of studies focuses on social impacts.…”

Section: Frackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the effects of living with contamination from the lens of trauma: a case study of fracking development in Alberta, Canada

Davidson

2017

Environmental Sociology

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Trauma, the experience of sudden, dangerous, overwhelming events that render victims powerless, is an apt description of many experiences with toxic contamination. Toxic contamination events nonetheless often have a number of characteristics in common that render such events unique forms of trauma, including the invisibility and ambiguity of threats, an association between the threat and sources of livelihood and identity and the absence of resources necessary for resolution and recovery. While environmental sociologists tend not to analyze toxic contamination from the lens of trauma, doing so may shed important insights into such events and their human and social consequences. The current study explores the toxic contamination experienced by local residents due to nearby hydraulic fracturing activities in rural communities in southern Alberta, a conservative, upper middle class agrarian region with strong links with the oil and gas industry. Residents describe acute impacts to their health, land, livestock and loved ones, but these traumas were then exacerbated by the failure of authorities to respond in a manner expected, and the corrosion of communities. Victims experienced complete upheaval in their beliefs, and for many their experiences with contamination and fears of future exposure have come to dominate their lives.

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Section: Frackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the effects of living with contamination from the lens of trauma: a case study of fracking development in Alberta, Canada

Davidson

2017

Environmental Sociology

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“…466 2016;Kriesky 2015;Jalbert et al 2014;Kinchy et al 2014;Wylie and Albright 2013;Macey et al 2014;Steinzor et al 2013). …”

Section: Ungd and The Speckunclassified

Participatory Air Monitoring in the Midst of Uncertainty: Residents’ Experiences with the Speck Sensor

Matz

Wylie

Kriesky³

2017

Engaging STS

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How do participants engage in at-home air monitoring in the midst of uncertain exposures to airborne emissions associated with unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) activities?We investigate residents' experiences with the "Speck" particulate matter sensor with an emerging environmental health resource center called the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project (EHP). In response to the gaps in knowledge about the health impacts of UNGD and the growth citizen science tools, participatory environmental monitoring (PEM) projects have taken off in shale gas communities. Using interview and survey data from residents, advocates, and activists we show that residents use the Speck as: 1) "environmental health thermometers" to make real time decisions based on readings; 2) real-time tools of exposure-validation to immediately validate or invalidate suspicions of exposure; 3) "epistemic objects" or tools manipulated in exploratory ways to understand their efficacy in monitoring UNGD; and 4) passively by those who chose to rarely interact with the monitors and rather waited for overall analysis of results. While PEM's have been critiqued for potentially passing the burden of monitoring onto communities, our research shows PEM, when connected with Jacob Matz, Email: matz.j@husky.neu.edu

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“…Training programs were established to propagate standard practices and to build up larger monitoring networks (Jalbert, Kinchy, and Perry 2014;Kinchy and Perry 2012;). …”

Section: Communicating Civic Science Through Digital Storytellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Citizen science air and water monitoring programs sought to collect data in threatened communities (Khan 2016;Jalbert, Kinchy, and Perry 2014;Wylie and Dosemagen 2011). Other initiatives brought public health resources to assist affected residents and collected data on their symptoms, such as the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project featured in this thematic collection (Rabinowitz et al 2015;D.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Civic Informatics of FracTracker Alliance: Working with Communities to Understand the Unconventional Oil and Gas Industry

2017

Self Cite

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Unconventional oil and gas extraction is fueling a wave of resource development often touted as a new era in US energy independence. However, assessing the true costs of extraction is made difficult by the vastness of the industry and lack of regulatory transparency. This paper addresses efforts to fill knowledge gaps taken up by civil society groups, where the resources produced in these efforts are used to make informed critiques of extraction processes and governance. We focus on one civil society organization, called FracTracker Alliance, which works to enhance public understanding by collecting, interpreting, and visualizing oil and gas data in broad partnerships. Drawing on the concepts of civic science, we suggest that the informational practices of civil society research organizations facilitate critical knowledge flows that we term "civic informatics." We offer three case studies illustrating how different characteristics of civic informatics enable public-minded research as well as build capacity for political mobilizations.Finally, we suggest that empirical studies of civic informatics and its facilitators offer insights for the study of "engaged" Science and Technologies Studies (STS) that seek to generate new models of science at the intersection of praxis and theory.

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Civil society research and Marcellus Shale natural gas development: results of a survey of volunteer water monitoring organizations

Cited by 38 publications

References 19 publications

Evaluating the effects of living with contamination from the lens of trauma: a case study of fracking development in Alberta, Canada

Evaluating the effects of living with contamination from the lens of trauma: a case study of fracking development in Alberta, Canada

Participatory Air Monitoring in the Midst of Uncertainty: Residents’ Experiences with the Speck Sensor

The Civic Informatics of FracTracker Alliance: Working with Communities to Understand the Unconventional Oil and Gas Industry

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