Buckets of Resistance: Standards and the Effectiveness of Citizen Science (original) (raw)

Citizen Science and Environmental Protection Agencies: Engaging Citizens to Address Key Environmental Challenges

Frontiers in Climate, 2020

Environmental Protection Agencies (EPAs) have been involved in citizen science initiatives for decades, engaging with citizens with the goal of protecting and restoring our environment. Yet the data and knowledge generated and the possibilities for engaging citizens have grown significantly in the last decades thanks to the recent developments in mobile technologies and the access to internet, resulting in a transformation of how environmental protection can be done. This perspective provides some examples on how European EPAs and their partners are currently addressing key environmental challenges and exploring new institutional approaches by bringing in citizen science data and methods. It also points out challenges that need to be addressed to fully realize the potential of citizen science as a complement to the monitoring efforts by these agencies. Finally, it presents the Interest Group on Citizen Science of the Network of the Heads of Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA Net...

Science, citizens, and air pollution: Constructing Environmental (In)Justice

2020

Introduction to Part III-Alice Mah 8 Legitimating confrontational discourses by local environmental groups: The case of air quality monitoring in a Spanish industrial area-Miguel A. López-Navarro 9 Environmental justice in industrially contaminated sites: From the development of a national surveillance system to the birth of an international network-Roberto Pasetto and Ivano Iavarone 10 Soft confrontation: Strategic actions of an environmental organization in China-Xinhong Wang and Yuanni Wang Part IV: Expanding citizen science Introduction to Part IV-Thom Davies 11 Whose citizenship in "citizen science"? Tribal identity, civic dislocation, and environmental health research-Elizabeth Hoover 12 Modes of engagement: Reframing "sensing" and data generation in citizen science for empowering relationships-João Porto de Albuquerque and André Albino de Almeida 13 Science, citizens, and air pollution: Constructing environmental (in)justice-Anneleen Kenis 14 Beyond the data treadmill: Environmental enumeration, justice, and apprehension-Nicholas Shapiro, Nasser Zakariya, and Jody A. Roberts Index 1.1 Published scientific research on various emerging contaminants. Research on emerging contaminants has increased over the last two decades 2.1 Map of the region, including zones where the study occurred and locations of industrial activity 2.2 Residents analyzing data in focus groups 2.3 Homes and industry in Fos-sur-Mer 3.1 Location map. Study area is located in the mid-city area of Los Angeles, just west of downtown 4.1 Industrial hog operations sited in eastern North Carolina 6.1 An urban authority fire 6.2 Workers showing their collected copper wires 6.3 Scrap worker meeting and market blessing 7.1 São Paulo's buildings with covered billboards, graffiti, and pixo, found at Via Elevado Pres. João Goulart where the author conducted some of the interviews 8.1 Campaign image "Saps què respires?" 9.1 The Gela petrochemical complex. View from the ancient acropolis of the town, now included in the archaeological museum district. 9.2 Italy. Percentage of communities living close to Sites of National Interest for decontamination and remediation by level of deprivation in macro-areas (North, Center, South and the Islands) 14.1 Holding the formaldehyde tube in Joe's home. 14.2 Leslie Nevon Holden and Pat Lamborn in The White Mountains, performed at the ACT II Playhouse in Ambler, PA, April 2015 14.3 Two Aerocene solar sculptures floating above Paradise Bay, Antarctica as a part of the Antarctic Biennale, March 2017. The albedo (reflectivity) of the snow keeps the aerostats afloat even with partial clouds Tables 2.1 Health issues in the Fos EPSEAL study and relevant comparison populations 3.1 Sensitive land uses in selected areas hosting oil production facilities 3.2 Demographics of West Adams and University Park within the 1,500 ft. buffer 4.1 Lessons learned from community-driven participatory research conducted in North Carolina

Expanding Citizen Science: Community Action Without Primary Data Collection

Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 2023

Environmental planning disputes often combine questions of regulation and legislation with distinctive, place-based epistemic issues that lend themselves to citizen science approaches. Whilst these citizen science activities often concern the enforcement of regulations, here we describe the attempts of a local community group to prevent the start-up of a new biomass incineration plant by showing that it fails to comply with the relevant regulations and/or that the associated legislation has not been applied correctly. Through documentary sources and in-depth interviews, we examine the ways in which the group's work has parallels with aspects of regulatory science. In describing this work, and thinking about how to categorise it, we argue that conceptions of citizen science need to be broadened to include a wider range of activities than the traditional focus on primary data collection.

Science as a Lever: The Roles and Power of Civil Society Organisations in Citizen Science

The Science of Citizen Science, 2021

Citizen science has become an umbrella term that encompasses a growing range of activities, actors, and issues. This chapter examines the potential of citizen science to generate transformative knowledge and argues that civil society organisations (CSOs) are key actors in this regard. However, the roles of CSOs are neglected in the literature on citizen science. We turn to the traditions of community-based research and participatory action research to learn more. With two case studies on health and safety, we show how transformative knowledge enables concerned communities to claim their rights and enriches scientific knowledge generation. Through a socio-historical analysis, we find three main roles grassroots CSOs take on in participatory research: (1) a technical role in the production of data and knowledge; (2) a governance role in the deliberation on research activities and risk assessment; and (3) an advocacy role by campaigning for transformative knowledge. These roles determi...

Difficult Data: Boundary Dynamics, Public Engagement and Bridging Technologies in a Science/Policy Controversy

East Asian Science, Technology and Society: an International Journal, 2010

In 2001, the New Zealand Ministry of Health (MoH) contracted the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Ltd. (ESR) to undertake a serum dioxin study to determine exposure (current and historical) to dioxins for residents living in close proximity to the former Ivon Watkins Dow chemical plant in Paritutu, New Plymouth. In the years that the plant had operated, a number of activist groups had organised in the community to ask the government to respond to their concerns about possible exposure and any links to adverse health effects. The members of these groups were angry and frustrated. They distrusted industry and the various government agencies involved, and felt that previous scientific studies had marginalised their concerns. This paper explores the processes that enabled ESR to work with the community to produce a robust scientific study. Key dynamics, lessons, methods and mechanisms critical to the success of this intervention are appraised. This paper offers theoretical reflection on boundary work between science, policy and community and focuses on the challenges in including local knowledge to produce 'useable knowledge' in this case.

The Impact of Citizen Environmental Science in the United States

Social Science Research Network, 2019

An increasingly sophisticated public, rapid changes in monitoring technology, the ability to process large volumes of data, and social media are increasing the capacity for members of the public and advocacy groups to gather, interpret, and exchange environmental data. This development has the potential to alter the government-centric approach to environmental governance; however, citizen science has had a mixed record in influencing government decisions and actions. This Article reviews the rapid changes that are going on in the field of citizen science and examines what makes citizen science initiatives impactful, as well as the barriers to greater impact. It reports on 10 case studies, and evaluates these to provide findings about the state of citizen science and recommendations on what might be done to increase its influence on environmental decisionmaking.

Citizen Science Across a Spectrum: Building Partnerships to Broaden the Impact of Citizen Science

Science & Technology Studies, 2018

Environmental protection as a movement is broadening to both invite and require the participation and energy of everyone, including federal agencies, local governments, activists, and enthusiasts. Citizen science and community science, approaches rooted in non-traditional partnerships and diverse participation, are a strong approach to science, and they are especially strong approaches to a wide range of outcomes with direct impacts on the protection of the environment, from civic engagement all the way to enforcement action. There is evidence that institutions and agencies are moving towards more inclusive visions of their missions, and citizen and community scientists are motivated to engage. We propose a spectrum of engagement that defines opportunities for citizen science and community science beyond the participation of volunteers in institution-driven or scientist-driven research; we also provide examples of projects and efforts that have led to outcomes for each of the spectr...

Citizen Science and Citizens’ Observatories: Trends, Roles, Challenges and Development Needs for Science and Environmental Governance

2017

This chapter explores growing and important trends within citizen sensing, especially those linked to major initiatives that form citizens' observatories and address novel ways to engage citizens in science and environmental policymaking. On the basis of providing an overview of existing and planned citizen science and citizens' observatories programmes, this chapter identifies areas where citizen science and citizens' observatories have actively contributed to, and can be expected to see further development in, the formation of various policies in Europe. Furthermore, this chapter considers the motivations for developing citizen science and citizens' observatories and how these initiatives can contribute to awareness raising and decision support systems. We address key challenges and development needs for policy-and decision-making within the context of widespread and accessible citizen science and of the activities of citizen observatories.