Late Additions
Citizen Action for the Environment in Liberty State Park, New Jersey: Sustainability on the Local Level
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Judith Chelius Stark
What happens when old industrial sites and railway yards outlive their usefulness? Neglected, abandoned, vandalized, and degraded. Alternatively, they can become a source of inspiration and be transformed. The subject of this study, the creation of Liberty State Park in New Jersey along the western shore of New York Harbor, is an excellent example of such a transformation. This park came about because small groups of dedicated local citizens united with a shared passion as well as a commitment to the principle of public access to coastlines. With the interweaving of principles and pragmatism, this core group organized and lobbied local and state governments that eventually brought about the creation of Liberty State Park in 1976 and the Hudson River Walkway twelve years later. These public spaces provide four million people annually with access to one of the most magnificent human and natural environments in the United States—the western shoreline of New York Harbor with views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the magnificent Manhattan skyline. With a combination of paved walkways, observation sites, a restored 1889 French Renaissance-style Railroad Terminal along with 900 acres of natural habitats, Liberty State Park exemplifies the happy marriage of an important historic site with natural habitats. Ever wary of commercial developers, citizen activists are grounded in the public trust doctrine to keep the park and walkway sustainable and available to all. The sustainability of this urban gem is of enormous benefit to the people and the ecosystems of Liberty State Park.
Innovating Carbon Emissions Trading with Blockchain
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Christopher Salatiello, Troy Felver
Carbon Emissions Trading utilizes emissions allowances representing the right to pollute a certain quantity of carbon emissions. Participants may trade emissions allowances amongst each other and must submit allowances for compliance obligations. In order to facilitate an emissions trading scheme, trading and compliance infrastructure must be designed, deployed and maintained. The design and infrastructure must be made carefully to ensure smooth trading as well as for data protection and security. Blockchain is an emerging technology that can be used for online transactions, providing both data protection and transaction security. Blockchain technology was originally develop for crytocurrency trading using a decentralized model. Blockchain utilizes series of data blocks that contain value independent of central data storage, as well as using cryptographic methods to provide data and transaction security. Blockchain is increasingly seeing use in a variety of financial and other business processes. This study analyzes the possibility of using blockchain technology for carbon emissions trading. We look at three possible scenarios: using blockchain technology for government-sponsored emissions trading schemes; using blockchain in non-governmental emissions trading; and using blockchain for offsets.
Minamata: Dissidence, Lifeworld, and the Chisso Within
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Erick Cosme Gomez
There is a global trend to address environmental issues with new ethical frameworks. However, a vast gap exists between theoretical developments and daily patterns. In this research, I present the case of Minamata, a southern Japanese city that resists hegemonic discourses of economic development. With postmodernist and poststructuralist frameworks the presentation introduces the "Chisso Within” concept, a reshaped religious narrative for a secular world. The concept stresses a simple reality, the existence of each human being, including the activists, is imbued with a dominant narrative. There is no dissidence without contradiction because of an omnipresent network within which the “I” is irremediably accountable to the “Other.” Creative leaders in Minamata apply the “Chisso Within” through lifeworld, an intuitive, flexible, but an ambiguous system. The case of Minamata shows that narratives inspired by religious experiences can reach secular ears through rational statements free from dogmas. Dissidence starts in the everyday with the opportunity to become the next dominant narrative.
