Making Sense of Intractable Environmental Conflicts

by Lewicki, Roy J.

• ISBN13: 9781559639316
• ISBN10: 1559639318
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Island Pr

Summary

Despite a vast amount of effort and expertise devoted to them, many environmental conflicts have remained mired in controversy, stubbornly defying resolution. Why can some environmental problems be resolved in one locale but remain contentious in another, often carrying on for decades? What is it about certain issues or the people involved that make a conflict seemingly insoluble.Making Sense of Intractable Environmental Conflictsaddresses those and related questions, examining what researchers and experts in the field characterize as "intractable" disputesintense disputes that persist over long periods of time and cannot be resolved through consensus-building efforts or by administrative, legal, or political means. The approach focuses on the "frames" parties use to define and enact the disputethe lenses through which they interpret and understand the conflict and critical conflict dynamics. Through analysis of interviews, news media coverage, meeting transcripts, and archival data, the contributors to the book:examine the concepts of frames, framing, and reframing, and the role that framing plays in conflictsoutline the essential characteristics of intractability and its major causesoffer case studies of eight intractable environmental conflictspresent a rich body of original interview material from affected partiesset forth recommendations for intervention that can help resolve disputesWithin each case chapter, the authors describe the historical development and fundamental nature of the conflict and then analyze the case from the perspective of the key frames that are integral to understanding the dynamics of the dispute. They also offer cross-case analyses of related conflicts.Conflicts examined include those over natural resource use, toxic pollutants, water quality, and growth. Specific conflicts examined are the Quincy Library Group in California; Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota; Edwards Aquifer in Texas; Doan Brook in Cleveland, Ohio; the Antidegradation Environmental Advisory Group in Ohio; Drake Chemical in Pennsylvania; Alton Park/Piney Woods in Tennessee; and three examples of growth-related conflicts along the Front Range of Colorado's Rocky Mountains.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(10)
Roy J. Lewicki
Barbara Gray
Framing of Environmental Disputes	11	(24)
Barbara Gray
Intractability: Definitions, Dimensions, and Distinctions	35	(28)
Linda L. Putnam
Julia M. Wondolleck
I. Natural Resources Cases
When Irresolvable Becomes Resolvable: The Quincy Library Group Conflict	63	(28)
Todd A. Bryan
Julia M. Wondolleck
Freeze Framing: The Timeless Dialogue of Intractability Surrounding Voyageurs National Park	91	(36)
Barbara Gray
The Edwards Aquifer Dispute: Shifting Frames in a Protracted Conflict	127	(32)
Linda L. Putnam
Tarla Peterson
Comparing Natural Resource Cases	159	(34)
Barbara Gray
Tarla Peterson
Linda L. Putnam
Todd A. Bryan
II. Water Cases
Doan Brook: Latent Intractability	193	(32)
Sanda Kaufman
Mehnaaz Momen
Portraits of Self and Others: State-Level Conflict over Water Regulation in Ohio	225	(30)
Carolyn Wiethoff
Roy J. Lewicki
Craig B. Davis
Comparing Water Cases	255	(20)
Roy J. Lewicki
Sanda Kaufman
Carolyn Wiethoff
Craig B. Davis
III. Toxics Cases
The Story of Drake Chemical: A Burning Issue	275	(28)
Ralph Hanke
Adam Rosenberg
Barbara Gray
When the Parents Be Cancer-Free: Community Voice, Toxics, and Environmental Justice in Chattanooga, Tennessee	303	(30)
Michael Elliott
Framing Effects in Toxic Disputes: Cross-Case Analysis	333	(22)
Michael Elliott
Ralph Hanke
IV. Growth Management Cases
Colorado Growth--Related Envrionmental Conflicts	355	(32)
Robert Gardner
Carol Conzelman
Karen Mockler
Kim Sanchez
Guy Burgess
Analysis of Colorado Growth Conflict Frames	387	(22)
Robert Gardner
Guy Burgess
V. Conclusion
Lessons Learned about the Framing and Reframing of Intractable Environmental Conflicts	409	(28)
Michael Elliott
Barbara Gray
Roy J. Lewicki
Bibliography	437	(12)
About the Contributors	449	(6)
Index	455