Green politics or environmental blues? Analyzing ecological democracy

Abstract

Unlike several previous efforts that have discussed ecological forms of democracy in vague or esoteric terms, this article elucidates key factors that may affect the realization of ecological democracy. In the first section, ecological democracy is defined as an alternative democratic model that 1) strives to incorporate interested citizens into environmental decision-making, and 2) lacks structural features that systematically concentrate environmental amenities into the hands of particular social groups, while imposing environmental and ecological degradation on others. This leads to a discussion of several hindering and facilitating factors that either thwart or encourage ecological democracy. Two examples in support of this discussion on ecological democracy are provided: border contamination due to heavy industrial use along the US-Mexican border, and community forestry in the southeastern state of Oaxaca. By analyzing relevant factors that either have prevented or encouraged democratic environmental decision-making, this research will serve to improve environmental policy formulation and governance

Inequality and sustainable consumption: bridging the gaps

“…Yet there are clearly untapped potential areas of EJ research. First, there is still relatively little research on unequal access to environmental amenities and assets, although this area is currently drawing increasing attention (Floyd and Johnson 2002, Burningham and Trush 2003, Mitchell 2006. Another area where there is little systematic research is the differential ability of minority and other vulnerable groups to "live up the expectations" of public policies that seek to promote various sustainability goals but which create unequal burdens given the background inequities that prevail in the society.…”

“…The extension of empirical focus of the EJ scholarship to consumption would strengthen the linkages between it and other areas of critical social science research. This extension could involve scholarship on both material consumption -the core concern of SC scholarship -and on the consumption of intangible amenities which is only now being added to the EJ portfolio of research (Floyd and Johnson 2002, Burningham and Thrush 2003, Mitchell 2006. Moreover, some of the empirical tools such as ecological foot-printing which is commonly used in the SC scholarship would appear to fit to the orientation of empirical EJ scholarship quite well.…”

Between environmental and ecological democracy: theory and practice at the democracy-environment nexus

“…Baber & Bartlett, 2005;Smith, 2003), and research on ecological/environmental citizenship and the green state grew apace in the wake of books by Dobson (2003) and Eckersley (2004) respectively. Much early work on the democracy-environment nexus prescribed participatory, decentralised governance, citizenship and grassroots social movements as antidotes to environmental malaise (Mitchell, 2006). Others (e.g.…”

Building an Empirical Case for Ecological Democracy

“…In related research, I have defined ecological democracy as an alternative democratic model that 1. strives to incorporate interested citizens into environmental decision making, and 2. lacks structural features that systematically concentrate environmental amenities into the hands of particular social groups, while imposing environmental and ecological degradation on others (Mitchell 2006(Mitchell , 2007. If we can accept this definition as theoretically possible, then what research is required to test some of the aforementioned and other empirical intersections?…”

“…This has led to considerable conceptual and philosophical works on environmental politics, along with the development of new terms such as "ecological democracy" (Mitchell 2006(Mitchell , 2007Ungaro 2005;Shutkin 2000;Mason 1999;Morrison 1995).…”