Breakthrough Strategies in Prevention Education: The Intersection of Alcohol ...Maria Candelaria
Get an overview of the most current research exploring the nexus between alcohol use and sexual assault, and consideration of the impact on those who commit, experience, or witness harm. Our presenters will share practical approaches for strengthening your strategic prevention plan through spotlights on successful interventions.
This is a statement made at a recent forum on fracking organized by New York State Senate Democrats by Sandra Steingraber, distinguished scholar in residence at Ithaca College. It is posted here in relation to the Dot Earth post “When Publicity Precedes Peer Review in the Fight Over Gas Impacts."
More: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/fracking
Breakthrough Strategies in Prevention Education: The Intersection of Alcohol ...Maria Candelaria
Get an overview of the most current research exploring the nexus between alcohol use and sexual assault, and consideration of the impact on those who commit, experience, or witness harm. Our presenters will share practical approaches for strengthening your strategic prevention plan through spotlights on successful interventions.
This is a statement made at a recent forum on fracking organized by New York State Senate Democrats by Sandra Steingraber, distinguished scholar in residence at Ithaca College. It is posted here in relation to the Dot Earth post “When Publicity Precedes Peer Review in the Fight Over Gas Impacts."
More: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/fracking
The marginal impact of ENGOs in different types of democratic systemsYsrrael Camero
El impacto de las ONGs ambientalistas en diferentes democracias. Conventional wisdom suggests that environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) play a major role in pushing states towards more ambitious environmental policies. However, demonstrating that this presumption is in fact true is rather difficult, because the same system structures of democracies that may create more opportunities for ENGO activities are also, on their own, conducive to better environmental policies. This leaves open the possibility that the additional (marginal) impact of ENGOs on policy making is smaller than presumed. In trying to disentangle these effects, this paper examines the influence of ENGOs contingent on key structural characteristics of democratic systems. We develop the argument that presidential systems with a plurality electoral rule per se tend to provide more environmental public goods, which induces a smaller marginal impact of ENGOs. Conversely, parliamentary systems with a proportional representation electoral rule are likely to provide fewer environmental public goods, which allows for a larger marginal impact of ENGOs. We find robust empirical support for these hypotheses in analyses that focus on the ratification behavior of 75 democracies vis-à-vis 250 international environmental agreements in 1973–2002.
Rank/Reviews Public Spaces/Property Litter Removal and Overall Environmental Quality (cleanliness) of the 50 U.S. States, year 2008. Mississippi was #1 WORST state; Vermont, Minnesota were tied for #1 BEST state. Created: March 2008 and presented at ASPA conference, Dallas, TX.
Dr. Fred C. Lunenburg[1]. environmental hazards in america's schools focus v4...William Kritsonis
Dr. Fred C. Lunenburg, www.nationalforum.com, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Editor-in-Chief, National FORUM Journals, Houston, Texas
www.nationalforum.com
Learn everything you need to know about rolling an options position.
tastytrade's very own, Mike 'Beef' Hart, joins Ryan on the Webinar to discuss all of the mechanics of rolling trades.
Learn the basics of put options from dough support specialist, Ryan.
Learn what a put option is, what it means if the put option in the money or out of the money, how to buy/sell puts and so much more!
Making Better Internet Policy: An Analysis of the National Information Infras...Jeremy Pesner
My Masters Thesis mapped diversity of stakeholder involvement to policy outcomes of the National Information Infrastructure. I reviewed many archival documents from the era and interviewed nearly twenty different stakeholders who were involved at the time.
Thesis Committee: D. Linda Garcia, David Ribes, Michael R. Nelson
Bit by Bit: Issues of Future Technology and Cultural DevelopmentJeremy Pesner
A talk I gave at the 2015 World Future Society conference in San Francisco. I covered three major topics relating the future of technology: the customization of life, the lack of long-term technological innovation and how open source versus closed source affects how users understand technology.
A presentation that we gave as part of our Research Experience for Undergraduate program. We designed and built a basic game for teaching the basic characteristics of the biological immunization process (which neither of us were familiar with previously).
A presentation I gave as a Teaching Assistant for Network Technologies and Society in Fall 2012. I instructed them in the history and background of science fiction. This was especially in the context of applying the concepts of technology development they had learned all semester to the story worlds they were creating.
The marginal impact of ENGOs in different types of democratic systemsYsrrael Camero
El impacto de las ONGs ambientalistas en diferentes democracias. Conventional wisdom suggests that environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) play a major role in pushing states towards more ambitious environmental policies. However, demonstrating that this presumption is in fact true is rather difficult, because the same system structures of democracies that may create more opportunities for ENGO activities are also, on their own, conducive to better environmental policies. This leaves open the possibility that the additional (marginal) impact of ENGOs on policy making is smaller than presumed. In trying to disentangle these effects, this paper examines the influence of ENGOs contingent on key structural characteristics of democratic systems. We develop the argument that presidential systems with a plurality electoral rule per se tend to provide more environmental public goods, which induces a smaller marginal impact of ENGOs. Conversely, parliamentary systems with a proportional representation electoral rule are likely to provide fewer environmental public goods, which allows for a larger marginal impact of ENGOs. We find robust empirical support for these hypotheses in analyses that focus on the ratification behavior of 75 democracies vis-à-vis 250 international environmental agreements in 1973–2002.
Rank/Reviews Public Spaces/Property Litter Removal and Overall Environmental Quality (cleanliness) of the 50 U.S. States, year 2008. Mississippi was #1 WORST state; Vermont, Minnesota were tied for #1 BEST state. Created: March 2008 and presented at ASPA conference, Dallas, TX.
Dr. Fred C. Lunenburg[1]. environmental hazards in america's schools focus v4...William Kritsonis
Dr. Fred C. Lunenburg, www.nationalforum.com, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Editor-in-Chief, National FORUM Journals, Houston, Texas
www.nationalforum.com
Learn everything you need to know about rolling an options position.
tastytrade's very own, Mike 'Beef' Hart, joins Ryan on the Webinar to discuss all of the mechanics of rolling trades.
Learn the basics of put options from dough support specialist, Ryan.
Learn what a put option is, what it means if the put option in the money or out of the money, how to buy/sell puts and so much more!
Making Better Internet Policy: An Analysis of the National Information Infras...Jeremy Pesner
My Masters Thesis mapped diversity of stakeholder involvement to policy outcomes of the National Information Infrastructure. I reviewed many archival documents from the era and interviewed nearly twenty different stakeholders who were involved at the time.
Thesis Committee: D. Linda Garcia, David Ribes, Michael R. Nelson
Bit by Bit: Issues of Future Technology and Cultural DevelopmentJeremy Pesner
A talk I gave at the 2015 World Future Society conference in San Francisco. I covered three major topics relating the future of technology: the customization of life, the lack of long-term technological innovation and how open source versus closed source affects how users understand technology.
A presentation that we gave as part of our Research Experience for Undergraduate program. We designed and built a basic game for teaching the basic characteristics of the biological immunization process (which neither of us were familiar with previously).
A presentation I gave as a Teaching Assistant for Network Technologies and Society in Fall 2012. I instructed them in the history and background of science fiction. This was especially in the context of applying the concepts of technology development they had learned all semester to the story worlds they were creating.
A short presentation I delivered on the history and makeup of the early Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) innovation lab. In particular, I highlight how Alan Kay's contributions led to several key elements of our modern computers.
STA 544Homework 1Work on the following problem set and show yo.docxsusanschei
STA 544
Homework 1
Work on the following problem set and show your works within the document. Use SPSS as much as possible.
Chapter 1
1. What types of activities other than “calculations” and “math” are associated with the practice of statistics?
2. Define the term measurement.
3. List the three main measurement scales addressed in this chapter.
4. What type of measurement assigns a name to each observation?
5. What type of measurement is based on categories that can be put in rank order?
6. What type of measurement assigns a numerical value that permits for meaningful mathematical operations for each observation?
7. What does GIGO stand for?
8. Provide synonyms for categorical data.
9. Provide synonyms for quantitative data.
10. What is the difference between imprecision and bias
11. How is imprecision quantified?
Chapter 2
1. Controlled-release morphine in patients with chronic cancer pain. Warfield reviewed 10 studies comparing the effectiveness of controlled-release and immediate-release morphine in cancer patients with chronic pain. The studies that were reviewed were double blinded. How would you double blind such studies?
2. What is the general goal of a statistical survey?
3. What is the general goal of a comparative statistical study?
4. What is the key distinction between experimental studies and observational studies?
5. Campus survey. A researcher conducts a survey to learn about the sexual behavior of college students on a particular campus. A list of the undergraduates at the university is used to select participants. The investigator sends out 500 surveys but only 136 are returned.
a. Consider how the low response rate could bias the results of this study.
b. Speculate on potential limitations in the quality of information the researcher will receive on questionnaires that are returned.
6. A study seeks to determine the effect of postmenopausal hormone use on mortality. What is the explanatory variable in this study? What is the response variable?
7. MRFIT. The MRFIT study discussed in an earlier illustrative example studied 12,866 high-risk men between 35 and 57 years of age. Approximately half the study subjects were randomly assigned to a special care group; the other half received their usual source of care. Death from coronary disease was monitored over the next seven or so years. Outline this study’s design in schematic form.
8. Five-City Project. The Stanford Five-City Project is a comprehensive community health education study of five moderately sized Northern California towns. Multiple-risk factor intervention strategies were randomly applied to two of the communities. The other three cities served as controls. Outline the design of this study in schematic form.
By applying factors in combination, experiments can study more than one factor at a time.
paper
by Xx xx
Submission date: 16-Mar-2020 03:51AM (UTC-0400)
Submission ID: 1276359854
File name: internationaldrugtrafficking1.docx (24.71K)
Wo.
Today, EPA is all but a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal activist groups. The takeover of EPA and all of its activities
by liberal activists was slow and methodical over the past 30 years. Today, EPA is all but a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal activist groups. Its rules account for about half of the nearly $2 trillion a year cost of complying with all national regulations in the U.S.2 Barack Obama is using it to circumvent Congress to impose regulations on the energy sector that will cause prices to “skyrocket.” It is a rogue agency!
Video 1 Linkhttpswaldenu.kanopy.comvideogroup-therapy-live-VannaJoy20
Video 1 Link
https://waldenu.kanopy.com/video/group-therapy-live-demonstration
Video 2 Link
https://waldenu.kanopy.com/video/group-therapy-live-demonstration
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Public Administration Review
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND THE DISCIPLINES
Full Access
Collaborative Governance: Integrating Management, Politics, and Law
Lisa Blomgren Amsler
Abstract
Scholars have engaged in an ongoing dialogue about the relationships among management, politics, and law in public administration. Collaborative governance presents new challenges to this dynamic. While scholars have made substantial contributions to our understanding of the design and practice of collaborative governance, others suggest that we lack theory for this emerging body of research. Law is often omitted as a variable. Scholarship generally does not explicitly include collaboration as a public value. This article addresses the dialogue on management, politics, and law with regard to collaborative governance. It provides an overview of the current legal framework for collaborative governance in the United States at the federal, state, and local levels of government and identifies gaps. The institutional analysis and development framework provides a body of theory that incorporates rules and law into research design. The article concludes that future research on collaborative governance should incorporate the legal framework as an important variable and collaboration as a public value.
Practitioner Points
· In designing public engagement and collaborative processes, public managers must consider the legal framework that governs their action.
· Relevant law varies across the federal, state, and local arenas and shapes design choices.
· Collaboration itself is an important value to the public and stakeholders.
· Public managers must acquire an understanding of basic constitutional and administrative law to plan effective public engagement and collaborative governance.
· In seeking to innovate, public managers should consider what the relevant legal framework is and consult with legal counsel. However, they should also consider the likelihood that in-house counsel may be risk averse.
· When innovation presents a case of first impression, one for which there is no case law, managers should ask not whether they can innovate by using participatory and collaborative processes but how to do it consistent with their legal authority.
Public administration scholars have engaged in an ongoing dialogue about the relationships among management, politics, and law in public agencies’ work (Christensen, Goerdel, and Nicholson-Crotty
2011; Rosenbloom
1983,
2013). Collaborative governance presents a new challenge for this dialogue. As an umbrella term, it describes various system designs and processes through which public agencies work together with the private sector, civil society, and the public to ide ...
CHAPTER 7The policy processEileen T. O’GradyThere are tJinElias52
CHAPTER 7
The policy process
Eileen T. O’Grady
“There are three critical ingredients to democratic renewal and progressive change in America: good public policy, grassroots organizing and electoral politics.”
Paul Wellstone
Nurses can more strategically and effectively influence policy if they have a clear understanding of the policymaking process. Conceptual models can help to organize and interpret information by depicting complex ideas in a simplified form; to this end, political scientists have developed a number of conceptual models to explain the highly dynamic process of policymaking. This chapter reviews two of these conceptual models.
Health policy and politics
Health policy encompasses the political, economic, social, cultural, and social determinants of individuals and populations and attempts to address the broader issues in health and health care (see Box 7.1 for policy definitions). A clear understanding of the points of influence to shape policy is essential and includes framing the problem itself. For example, if nurses working in a nurse-managed clinic are troubled by staff shortages or long patient waits, they may be inclined to see themselves as the solution by working longer hours and seeing more patients. Defining and framing the problem is the first step in the policy process and involves assessing its history, patterns of impact, resource allocation, and community needs. Broadening and framing the problem to influence or educate stakeholders at the local, state, or federal level could include advocating for better access or funding for nursing workforce development (see Box 7.1).
BOX 7.1
Policy Definitions
Policy is authoritative decision making related to choices about goals and priorities of the policymaking body. In general, policies are constructed as a set of regulations (public policy), practice standards (workplace), governance mandates (organizations), ethical behavior (research), and ordinances (communities) that direct individuals, groups, organizations, and systems toward the desired behaviors and goals.
Health policy is the authoritative decisions made in the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government that are intended to direct or influence the actions, behaviors, and decisions of others (Longest, 2016).
Policy analysis is the investigation of an issue including the background, purpose, content, and effects of various options within a policy context and their relevant social, economic, and political factors (Dye, 2016).
The next step is to bring the problem to the attention of those who have the power to implement a solution. Other key factors to consider include generating public interest, the availability of viable policy solutions, the likelihood that the policy will serve most of the people at risk in a fair and equitable fashion, and consideration of the organizational, community, societal, and political viability of the policy solution.
Public interest is a fascinating dynamic ...
Causal Argument Essay
Qualitative Research Summary
Social Learning Theory
Teenage Alcohol Abuse Essay
Essay On Causal Argument
Jeremy Rifkin Enemies Of Promise
Confirmation Bias Essay
Causal Essay
The Mainstream-Grassroots Divide in the Environmental MovMikeEly930
The Mainstream-Grassroots Divide in the Environmental Movement: Environmental Groups
in Washington State
Author(s): Debra J. Salazar
Source: Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 77, No. 3 (September 1996), pp. 626-643
Published by: University of Texas Press
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The Mainstream-Grassroots Divide in the
Environmental Movement: Environmental
Groups in Washington State*
Debra J. Salazar, Western Washington University
Objective. Observers of environmental politics have noted a division between
mainstream national and grassroots environmental groups. This study attempts
to determine whether a similar split in the movement can be observed at the
state level. Methods . Data from a 1989 survey of 73 environmental groups in
Washington State are analyzed. A distinction is made between institutionalized
groups that regularly testify at the state legislature and grassroots groups that
do not. Analysis focuses on environmental groups' structural characteristics,
use of political resources, and choice of political activities. Results. Difference
of means tests indicate that there are systematic differences between institu-
tionalized and grassroots groups. The former have more members and larger
paid staffs, derive more of their funding from other organizations, and are more
bureaucratized. Second, principal components factor analysis reveals three
kinds of political resources: mobilization resources, expertise, and organiza-
tional assets. Environmental groups rely on the first two more than on the last;
grassroots groups are especially reliant on mobilization resources. Finally, logit
analyses indicate that mobilization resources are positively related to the use
of public outreach activities while expertise and organizational assets tend to
be positively related to conventional political activities. Conclusions. These
findings suggest that the division within the environmental movement exists
within Washington State and structures the course of environmental politics
within the state.
During the last three decades, environmental concerns have become
institutionalized in public policy making in the United States. This in-
stitutionalizatio ...
GEN 499Ronald’s PostIdentify the global societal issue you ha.docxshericehewat
GEN 499
Ronald’s Post:
Identify the global societal issue you have chosen to research for your Final Paper, an argumentative essay, and explain why further research on this topic is important.
The global societal issue I have chosen to research for my final paper is Climate change. Further research is needed because many things can cause change to the climate, which is why it is essential to choose a subtopic of climate change. The subtopic that I have chosen is the oil industry’s problem between profits and CO2 emissions. The oil industry is trying to meet demand but also causing change to the climate through emissions. More research is needed to develop points and evidence, which are needed for both sides of the argument. Research is also necessary to create a possible solution.
Provide a clear and concise thesis statement that includes a solution to the global societal issue (see Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.) for assistance).
Carbon Dioxide emissions emitted by oil companies contribute to climate change, and a possible solution is providing oil companies bonuses or tax exemptions for exceeding emission regulations.
Explain how this global societal issue impacts a specific population.
The global societal issue of climate change impacts the entire world population. There are oil and natural gas companies all around the world meeting the growing demand of oil and gas. There is not one specific population that this global issue impacts.
Locate a peer-reviewed scholarly source and provide statistical data that you found surprising on the topic.
In the scholarly source, Krauss (2019) states, "Chevron and Occidental, which have each taken seats on Carbon Engineering's board, refused to disclose their investments. The company says it raised a total of $68 million in its most recent funding round to expand the pilot and develop its first commercial plant" (pg. 1). That is a lot of money, but to those companies, it is just a drop in the bucket, but that isn't what is most surprising. Most surprising is that there is no product, machine, or process outside of testing mode that works. What is Chevron (who is one of the leading oil companies) doing with the money invested since it has not found a way to remove carbon from the climate? There were no numbers to put with the dollar amount of what they were going to do by a certain time. I find that very surprising and a bit intriguing. It has nothing to do with availability or how possible it is to reduce emissions but a matter of who will do it. According to Krauss (2019), "A few companies, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP, are linking compensation to emissions reductions" (pg. 1). Even countries that are not as big of producers as chevron and other companies are doing what they can to increase spending to have clean energy. Krauss (2019) states, “Equinor, the Norwegian oil company, plans to increase spending on clean energy to 15 to 20 percent of it ...
Progress reportGeographies of race andethnicity II Envi.docxstilliegeorgiana
Progress report
Geographies of race and
ethnicity II: Environmental
racism, racial capitalism and
state-sanctioned violence
Laura Pulido
University of Southern California, USA
Abstract
In this report I argue that environmental racism is constituent of racial capitalism. While the environmental
justice movement has been a success on many levels, there is compelling evidence that it has not succeeded in
actually improving the environments of vulnerable communities. One reason for this is because we are not
conceptualizing the problem correctly. I build my argument by first emphasizing the centrality of the pro-
duction of social difference in creating value. Second, I review how the devaluation of nonwhite bodies has
been incorporated into economic processes and advocate for extending such frameworks to include pol-
lution. And lastly, I turn to the state. If, in fact, environmental racism is constituent of racial capitalism, then
this suggests that activists and researchers should view the state as a site of contestation, rather than as an ally
or neutral force.
Keywords
environmental racism, racial capitalism, state violence
I Introduction
We need to rethink environmental racism. The
environmental justice (EJ) movement arose in
the early 1980s and over the last 35 years acti-
vists have succeeded at blocking both new proj-
ects and the expansion of existing ones.
However, it is questionable if the environments
of vulnerable communities have actually
improved through EJ. There is compelling evi-
dence that environmental disparities between
white and nonwhite communities, what I call
the environmental racism gap, have not dimin-
ished and that the situation may have worsened
(Bullard et al., 2007). EJ scholars have hinted
at why the movement has failed to achieve
substantive results, including industry capture
of the state (Faber, 2008; Lievanos, 2012; Holi-
field, 2007); state co-optation of EJ activists
(Harrison, 2015); and a less oppositional EJ
movement (Carter, 2014; Benford, 2005). Yet,
I argue a fundamental problem characterizing
both EJ activism and research is the failure to
theorize environmental racism as a constituent
element of racial capitalism. Numerous prob-
lems stem from not conceptualizing the problem
accurately, including not giving sufficient
weight to the ballast of past racial violence, and
Corresponding author:
Laura Pulido, University of Southern California, Los
Angeles, CA, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Progress in Human Geography
1–10
ª The Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0309132516646495
phg.sagepub.com
http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
http://phg.sagepub.com
assuming the state to be a neutral force, when, in
fact, it is actively sanctioning and/or producing
racial violence in the form of death and
degraded bodies and environments.
My goal in this essay is to reposition envi-
ronmental racism so that ...
Taking A Proactive Approach Towards Responsibility Editedkblaas
paper for “Taking a Proactive Approach Towards Responsibility: Indications of NanoEthics and Policy Making Around the World” Emerging Industries: Nanotechnology and NanoIndicators. Conference sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research and the National Science Foundation. Cambridge, MA, May 15, 2008.
PUBLIC ADMINSTRATION Presented byDateInstitutionI.docxdenneymargareta
PUBLIC ADMINSTRATION
Presented by:
Date
Institution
Introduction
Public administration comes with a number of advantages.
Can be used as a governance instrument
Used to develop change
Used as an instrument of welfare state.
Incident command is vital in addressing emergency tasks.
Public policies describes the activities to be executed.
Organizational theory provides insights on what need to be done.
Public administration is defined as the ability of becoming a multidisciplinary used in research and practical fields in the public policy discipline. Public administration comes with a number of advantages. Some of which include being used as an instrument of developing change. Whenever people of a given state think of developmental projects and formalities, public administration is essential in governing what the members are in a position of executing any rights which they might come across (Greenel, 2004) For instance, development of national transport system and communication network and channels calls for the government intervention in addressing these matters.
2
Significance of public administration
Can be used as a governmental instrument.
Utilized as a tool of change and development.
Utilized as a tool in the welfare state.
The significance of public administration are best felt in the following areas. First is the utilization governmental instrument. It is the role of public administration to ensure law and order in a given state is maintained. There is need to better the management in addressing various aspects of its public affairs. Secondly is using it as a change of development. Thirdly is using it as a welfare state. The government takes care of its citizen welfare, particularly in the modern world.
3
Incident command
Used in organizing emergency responses to various incidents.
Example of emergency tasks include hostages, school shooting and mass causality.
Incident command is essential in organizing people.
Facilitates quick response teams towards the emergency issues arising.
Used in organizing emergency responses to various incidents. There are a number of emergency risks associated with various states. Example of emergency tasks include hostages, school shooting and mass causality. Incident command is essential in organizing people. Facilitates quick response teams towards the emergency issues arising (Greenel, 2004).
4
Public policies & Organizational theory
Involves laws and ordinances governing a given government.
Elected federal officials are the one’s who formulate these policies.
Both levels of the government are responsible in overseeing the entire process.
Organizational theories explain and predict the manner in which organizations function.
. Public policies involves laws and ordinances governing a given government. Elected federal officials are the one’s who formulate these policies. Both levels of the government are responsible in overseeing the entire process. Organizational theor ...
1. 1
SLAPPs: Occurrence & State Responses
Jacob Paul Walikainen
SS5300
Professor Barry Solomon
12/13/2011
Abstract:
The Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) is a counterclaim
that results from citizen reporting, monitoring, or voicing to a government body,
official, or the electorate on an issue of public interest or concern. SLAPPs
inhibit public participation in environmental assessment. This paper reviews
available literature on SLAPPs, drawing on existing case studies to investigate
how SLAPPs affect environmental monitoring and public participation in
environmental policy. Also, state responses to SLAPP are presented with three
charts on state Anti-SLAPP legislation. Most SLAPPs generate similar results- a
strategic victory for entities rather than a legal one by transforming the dispute.
The influences of SLAPPs on public participation include inhibition, intimidation,
and resource draining impacts. Findings suggest a need for every state and a
federal adoption of Anti-SLAPPs, SLAPP opposing legislation, in order to
support citizen participation in risk assessment and environmental outcomes.
2. 2
Introduction
The Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) is a counterclaim or
civil complaint filed against groups or individuals. These counterclaims are carried out
due to the defendants’ communications to a government body, official, or the electorate
on an issue of public interest or concern (Pring & Canan, 1989; Hurley & Shogren, 1997;
Osborn & Thaler, 2008). The defendants of SLAPPs are Non Government Organization
(NGO), and other citizen groups, which are often referred to as the target of a multi-
million dollar federal or state suit. Different state’s statutes define SLAPP in a variety of
ways, yet they generate similar results, a strategic victory for polluting entities rather than
a legal one by transforming the dispute. The SLAPP legal proceedings inhibit citizen
participation to assess environmental risk and to pursue public advocacy. The need for
every state and a federal adoption of Anti-SLAPPs is supported by investigations of
SLAPP case studies, state charts on Anti-SLAPP legislation, and inhibition of citizen
participation in risk dialogues.
The increasing number of SLAPPs, since the environment movement of the
1960s, uses litigation to derail political claims of pollution or proposed development
projects. These litigation methods move the public debate from the political arena to the
judicial arena, which often favors those opposed to efforts of influencing governance
(Canan, 1989). SLAPPs violate the First Amendment’s efforts safeguarding political
speech, and they restrict the public’s and citizen groups’ assessment of environmental
risks.
Citizen risk assessment is not only a public right, it is essential for pollution
monitoring within the Clean Water Act (CWA), Clean Air Act (CAA), and other
3. 3
environmental laws (Stetson, 1995). Data from the Clean Air Act shows that states with
Anti-SLAPPs have more government site inspections, impose more penalties, and locate
significantly more pollution violations (Norman, 2010). Public monitoring is vital to
support efforts of governmental pollution control agencies, especially on private lands
and areas with large regional impacts. Local pollution control agencies and
environmental policy makers rely on public reporting.
The majority of states have identified the problems of SLAPPs, and have passed
Anti-SLAPP statutes. Yet no federal Anti-SLAPP legislation has been approved, and
over 20 states lack Anti-SLAPP statutes (www.anti-slapp.org). Federal and additional
state legislation is required for dialogues of risk assessment and for democratic
environmental policy. SLAPPs dissolve trust in the democratic process. A sense of trust
is vital for building a dialogue of environment risk (Bell, 2011). Protection of public
monitoring and involvement is vital for reducing environmental damage and determining
risk to natural resources. The federal government and all states must enact Anti-SLAPP
legislation to provide environmental protection and effective environmental policy. In
this paper, SLAPP occurrences and state responses are examined.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate available literature on SLAPPs, while
using case studies and State Anti-SLAPP statutes to explain their occurrence/evolution
and impacts/consequences on environmental monitoring and public participation. This
investigation encourages Federal and State Anti-SLAPP legislation. The following
section supports this by evidence gathered from a multidisciplinary investigation of
available literature of SLAPP. This section is followed by a section on State Anti-
SLAPP legislation is compared with three developed charts, which reveal the need for
4. 4
additional Anti-SLAPPs. In the next section, SLAPP case studies of environmental
disputes, divided into sub-sections by publication year of the only book published
entirely about SLAPPs (Pring & Canan, 1996). Finally, the paper concludes by
reaffirming the necessity and urgency of public participation and risk dialogues.
Literature Review
An interdisciplinary investigation into SLAPPs and their environmental and social
consequences reveal a lack of attention and concern by academic scholars. The majority
of literature is written in law review journals. For example, Shannon Hartzler (2007) in
the Valparaiso University Law Review discusses one of most publicized SLAPPs, when
Oprah Winfrey won a SLAPP from Texas cattlemen for discussing beef and mad cow
disease on her show. Malena Barilai (2004) writes in QUILL Magazine that land
developers, business groups, and others with deep pockets and government connections
file the majority of SLAPPs. In the 2005 American Bar Association Journal, Margaret
Graham Tebo indicates Ohio has no Anti-SLAPP law. Marnie Stetson (1995) in the New
York University Law Review describes New York’s Anti-SLAPP, whereas London
Wright-Pegs (2009) analyzes California’s Anti-SLAPP statute. Also discussing
California’s Anti-SLAPP statute, Jerome Braun (2003) in the McGeorge Law Review
mentions that while it can be improved, was effective after 11 years.
Impacts of SLAPPs are discussed across multiple disciplines, yet direct
implications and comprehensive investigations are mostly unpublished. The exception is
a few websites and the co-principal investigators of the Political Litigation Project (PLP),
sponsored by the National Science Foundation. These co-directors of the PLP at the
5. 5
University of Denver are Dr. Penelope Canan and Dr. George W. Pring, who authored the
book on SLAPPs in 1996, SLAPPs: Getting Sued For Speaking Out. An addition, Dr.
Pring (1989) has published extensive SLAPP articles as a Professor of Law, and Dr.
Canan (1989) has published numerous articles in periodicals including Law & Society
Review (Canan & Pring, 1985), Sociological Perspective, Social Problems (Canan &
Pring, 1988), and Sociological Inquiry. These academic scholars coined the term SLAPP
and convey unique sociological and law perspectives. Their individual and collaborate
contributions for nearly three decades define the subject.
Important current information on SLAPPs and Anti-SLAPPs is provided by the
website of the Public Participation Project (PPP), www.anti-slapp.org. This PPP website
discusses state Anti-SLAPP statutes, and state judicial decisions setting Anti-SLAPP
precedent. The PPP director and Harvard Law graduate, Mark Goldowitz, founded the
California Anti-SLAPP Project, in reaction to SLAPPs against him and his clients
(Brown & Goldowitz, 2010). Another valuable website, http://law.wustl.edu/, provides
the stalled federal Anti-SLAPP legislation, The Citizen Participation in Government and
Society Act of 2009, along with John Glassman’s 2002 chart containing in-depth
information on state Anti-SLAPPs. The www.anti-slapp.org website describes anti-
SLAPP efforts in all the states with a color coded map. Goldowitz also presents general
SLAPP information filed against individuals and groups protecting the environment, non-
profit organizational targets, and academic targets, among others.
Mark Goldowitz co-authored with Samantha Brown in the same issue of the
Review of European Community & International Environmental Law as Catherine
Norman. In this issue, Catherine Norman discusses direct and indirect effects of SLAPPs
6. 6
and Anti-SLAPPs, along with data of impacts on the CWA and CAA (2010). Catherine
Norman is an economic professor and shares this discipline with Terrence Hurley and
Jason Shogren. Hurley and Shogren (1997) wrote “Environmental Conflicts and the
SLAPP” in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and showed with
environmental conflict models that SLAPP restrictions do not increase dispute efficiency.
Policy decisions and social organization does not depend on efficiency alone,
rather they usually determine the best course of action with all parties’ viewpoints. A
few sociologists have published on SLAPP in law review journals, indicating the need to
maximize opinions and information. Penelope Canan (1989) writes an article in the Pace
Environmental Law Review discussing the SLAPP’s inhibition of informed political
change without all citizens’ viewpoints. Also published in a law review are University of
Florida sociology professors, who investigated the community Bucket Brigade’s
effectiveness in monitoring and reducing local industrial polluters (Overdevest & Mayer,
2008). Bucket Brigades are citizen and community groups monitoring and reporting
industrial pollution with air quality measuring devices within buckets. Overdevest and
Mayer (2008) indicate these low tech civil-society regulators need encouragement
strategies for gathering pollution risk information.
In addition to efforts at holding existing polluters accountable, social scientists
have investigated proposed industrial sites. Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) incinerator
site proposal disputes in Pennsylvania show that citizens were unwilling to express
opinions as individuals, because they feared personal retribution by SLAPPs (Walsh,
et.al, 1993). Even though citizen groups and Non-Government Organizations (NGO) are
targets of SLAPPs, individuals targeted may experience larger consequences including
7. 7
alienation, expensive legal fees, reporting inhibition. Michael Bell (2011) discusses
SLAPPs inhibition of individual’s assessment of environmental risk and creating a
dialogue of risk rationality.
The environmental sociologist, Michael Carolan (2007), describes rethinking
assessment and mitigation of environmental threats with increased public involvement
and a precautionary approach. Citizens develop trust in government with involvement.
A sense of trust is essential to build a dialogic rationality of risk (Carolan & Bell, 2003).
For environmental policy to succeed, a dialogue must develop without inhibited opinion
or science to assess environmental risks. Michael Bell (2011) discusses SLAPPs
inhibition of individual’s determination of environmental risk and creating a dialogue of
risk rationality. Developing dialogues of risk is essential to protect a society and the
environment.
Dialogues of risk are diverted and distracted by SLAPPs’ transformation of a
dispute. William Freudenburg (2005) describes a second diversion form of privilege as
the diversion of attention or distraction that is rarely questioned. This second diversion
represents SLAPP results. He also discusses the need for closer attention to the
relationships between powers over discourses. Once a dispute makes it to court, those
privileged with the means for the best lawyers, often win the lawsuit and dispute.
Freudenberg’s diversion resembles Penelope Canan’s transformation of the
dispute by SLAPPs. Through a ten year period, Canan & Pring (1996) investigated
sociological perspectives of SLAPP case studies. This studying and reporting of SLAPP
case studies indicated drastic consequences to social organization, which is represented
by this list of actions initiating SLAPPs: writing, testifying, complaining, recommending,
8. 8
reporting, demonstrating, filing, lobbying, campaigning, rating, and collecting.
Besides sociologists, environmental scientists have investigated the Bucket
Brigades. A new strategy of public participation in environmental regulation, Bucket
Brigades create public policy dialogues and effective community environmental policing
(O’Rourke & Macey, 2003). SLAPPs’ target can be either citizens monitoring air
pollution with buckets, or those monitoring with the most expense equipment. Scientist
and academic scholars can suffer a heavy toll from SLAPPs. Defamation lawsuits
against scientist rarely have merit, yet they may result in a loss of research time, money,
job, emotional stability, and livelihood (Kuehn, 2004). Besides intimidation and
inhibition of citizen participation in social organization and environmental policy, results
of SLAPPs are drastic to communities and individuals’ quality of life.
Discussion of SLAPP Occurrence
The environmental movement developed in the 1960s, and flowered in the 1970s
with citizen concern, involvement, and empowerment. Public concern arose from Rachel
Carson’s Silent Spring and environmental disasters like the Santa Barbara oil spill, which
opened the governmental door for risk dialogues. At the time, the government expanded
the role of citizen involvement for self-serving recognition, that government enforcement
resources were insufficient and needed aid (Sax, 1971). Besides opening dialogues for
environmental policy, the passage of major environmental laws, such as the CWA, and
CAA, improved citizen rights to monitor environments and enhance government
regulatory enforcement (Stetson, 1995). The complexity of environmental regulation and
policy require public participation and involvement.
9. 9
The legislative foundations of the environmental movement were also fueled by
the courts opening to citizen environmental protection actions. Individuals were
empowered by ‘private Attorney-General’ status to sue for the environment (Norman,
2010). Judicial barriers soon developed to citizen actions with the onslaught of SLAPPs,
which increased in numbers since the 1970s. Ecological Strategic Lawsuit Against
Public Participation (Eco-SLAPP) counteracted the environmental movement by
restricting risk dialogues of wilderness, pollution, animal rights, and sustainable
development (Pring & Canan, 1996). There was a slow process of restricting Eco-
SLAPPs burden on courts and their inhibition on citizen participation in environmental
policy.
Some Anti-SLAPP statutes allow SLAPP defendants to file lawsuits for damages,
known as SLAPPbacks. Anti-SLAPP legislation first appeared in Washington state
during 1989 (Osborn & Thaler, 2008). Opposition to SLAPPs by citizens and NGOs first
developed in the 1980s through the courts, yet Anti-SLAPP statutes did not become a
majority in states until after 2005 (PPP, 2011). Unfortunately SLAPPs’ drastic
consequences of NGO/individual bankruptcy, lack of political power/creditability, and
other negative changes to social organization, have impacted the environmental
movement and reduced risk dialogues and assessment.
Anti-SLAPP Legislation
Many states have drawn from model legislation created by law professors and
other academic scholars, especially George Pring and Penelope Canan (1996). Federal
proposed legislation is based on their proposals, model legislation developed by the
10. 10
Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ), and the best components of existing state Anti-
SLAPPs (Brown & Goldowitz, 2010). The proposed federal Anti-SLAPP Legislation,
“The Citizen Participation in Government and Society Act of 2009“, is currently stalled
in U. S. House Subcommittee (www.anti-slapp.org).
The following section of Anti-SLAPP legislation is divided into four subsections:
three charts of states with Anti-SLAPP statutes organized by year, and a section on states
without Anti-SLAPP statutes. These statutes or lack thereof are based from www.anti-
slapp.org and cross referenced with a chart provided by John Glassman (2002) and other
sources. This updated website, anti-slapp.org, defines statements made by target as:
Made as part of an initiative
Referendum or recall effort
Before or submitted to a government body
Concerning an issue under review by that body
To influence government action or result are protected
The following three charts of Anti-SLAPP statutes are divided by statute adoption prior
to 1996, from 1996 through 2002, and since 2002. On all of these charts the seven
columns/topics are the same. These state Anti-SLAPP charts enhance understanding and
initiate additional investigations.
11. 11
Table 1: State Anti-SLAPP Legislation Adopted Prior To 1996
State Anti-
SLAPP
Statute
(Year)
Proposals/
Amendments
Allows
SLAPPbacks
Statement/
Free
Speech
Protection
Communication/
Petitioning
Protection
Reference
Environmental
Advocacy/ Law
California CA. Senate
Bill 264
(1992)
CIV. PROC.
CODE §
425.16-
425.18
(2009)
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Delaware DEL.
CODE
ANN. tit.
10, §§ 8136
– 8138
(1992)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Maine ME. REV.
STAT.
ANN. tit. 14
§ 556
(1995)
No No Yes Yes No
Massachusetts MASS.
GEN.
LAWS
ANN. ch.
231 § 59H
(1994)
Proposed
SB1618
(2009)
No Yes Yes No
Minnesota MINN.
STAT. §§
554.01 –
554.05
(1994)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Nebraska NEB. REV.
STAT.
§§25-21,241
– 25-21,246
(1994)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Nevada NEV. REV.
STAT. §§
41.635 –
41.670
(1993)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Oklahoma OKLA.
STAT. TIT.
12, § 1443.1
(1994)
No No No Yes No
Rhode Island R.I. GEN.
LAWS §§
9-33-1 – 9-
33-4 (1995)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Washington WASH.
REV.
CODE §§
RCW
4.24.500-
520 (1989)
WASH.
REV. CODE
§§ RCW
4.24.500-525
(2010)
Yes Yes Yes No
12. 12
Table 2: State Anti-SLAPP Legislation From 1996 Through 2002
State Anti-SLAPP
Statute (Year)
Proposals/
Amendmen
ts
Allows
SLAPPbacks
Statement/
Free
Speech
Protection
Communication/
Petitioning
Protection
Reference
Environmental
Advocacy/
Law
Florida FLA. STAT.
§§ 768.295 &
720.304
(2000)
No No Yes Yes No
Georgia GA. CODE
ANN. § 9-11-
11.1 (1996)
GA. CODE
ANN. § 9-
11-11.1
(2006)
Yes Yes Yes No
Hawaii HAW. REV.
STAT. §
634F-1 –
634F-4 (2002)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Indiana IND. CODE §
34-7-7-1 et
seq.(1998)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Louisiana LA. CODE
CIV. PROC.
ANN. art. 971
(1999)
No No Yes Yes No
New Mexico N.M. STAT.
§§ 38-2-9.1 –
38-2-9.2
(2001)
N.M.
STAT. §§
38-2-9.1 –
38-2-9.2
(2006)
Yes Yes No No
New York N.Y. C.P.L.R.
70-a & 76-a
N.Y.C.P.L.R.
3211 (2002)
N.Y.
C.P.L.R.
70-a & 76-
a
N.Y.C.P.L.
R. 3211
(2008)
Yes Yes Yes No
Oregon OR. REV.
STAT. §§
31.150 et seq.
(2001)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Pennsylvania 27 PA. CONS.
STAT. § 7707
& §§ 8301 –
8303. (2000)
No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tennessee TENN. CODE
ANN. §§ 4-21-
1001 -21-1004
(1997)
No No Yes Yes No
Utah UTAH CODE
ANN. §§ 78B-
6-1401 – 1405
(2001)
No Yes No No No
13. 13
Table 3: State Anti-SLAPP Legislation Since 2002
State Anti-SLAPP
Statute (Year)
Proposals/
Amendments
Allows
SLAPPbacks
Statement/
Free
Speech
Protection
Communication/
Petitioning
Protection
Reference
Environmental
Advocacy/
Law
Arkansas ARK. CODE
ANN. §§16-
63-501 – 16-
63-508 (2005)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Illinois 735 ILL.
COMP.
STAT. 110/1
– 110/99
(2007)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Maryland MD. CODE
ANN. CTS. &
JUD. PROC.
§ 5-807
(2004)
No Yes No No No
Missouri MO. REV.
STAT. §
537.528(2004)
No No Yes Yes No
Texas The Citizens
Participation
Act (HB
2973)
(2011)
No Yes Yes Yes No
Vermont 12 V.S.A. §
1041 (2002)
No Yes Yes Yes No
States without Anti-SLAPP law
Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi,
Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, & Wyoming.
14. 14
Additional investigation into individual state Anti-SLAPPs may yield additional
proposals, court decisions, and Eco-SLAPP cases. Court decisions have set SLAPP
precedence in multiple states for over three decades. In 1984, Colorado’s Protect Our
Mountain Environment v. District Court (POME) resulted in a District Court decision
setting effective precedence. POME is still used as precedence in Colorado and this
precedence has been reinforced by additional court rulings. Other states with court
rulings setting SLAPP precedence include Connecticut’s Anti-SLAPP court ruling
establishing precedence and West Virginia’s Supreme Court ruling to protect petitioning
and speech on issues of public interest.
State proposals, amendments, and discussions on SLAPP exist across the country.
Michigan Anti-SLAPP bill (HB 5036) is in subcommittee and resembles the federal bill
introduced by Steve Cohen, “The Citizen Participation in Government and Society Act of
2009.” South Carolina also has proposed Anti-SLAPP legislation (HR 3587). Other
states have legislation that overlaps public participation protection, such as Wisconsin’s
“Whistleblower Protection Act” which shields reporters from revealing their source’s
identity unless it is highly relevant to public interest.
Protection of public participation and advocacy are an essential part of Anti-
SLAPP legislation. Many states have evaluated and amended Anti-SLAPP legislation,
following investigations into their essential components. Pring and Canan (1996)
developed three tests/criteria necessary for Anti-SLAPP law to effectively protect public
participation in government. The first criterion is protection of oral and written
communication, covering all public advocacy and reporting to government. Pring and
Canan’s second test involves protections of forums, including all governmental and
15. 15
citizen participation in public meetings and other public discourse. Their third criteria for
Anti-SLAPP legislation are increasing SLAPP cures and prevention. This refers to early
review of SLAPPs by courts and shifting the burden of proof to filer, which discourages
further SLAPP filing.
Aspects of effective Anti-SLAPP legislation are shown by state implementation
of Pring and Canan’s model Anti-SLAPP bill. This four page proposal is located on page
201 in SLAPPs: Getting Sued For Speaking Out (1996). Overlap and additional criteria
of Anti-SLAPP legislation is presented in the developed charts of this paper. A strong
element of effective Anti-SLAPPs is specific reference of environmental law or
environmental advocacy. An important method for Anti-SLAPP to defeat Eco-SLAPPs
is specific connection to earlier precedence of right allocation in environmental laws,
such as CWA and CAA. Reaffirming rights in previous environmental legislation
secures public protection of environmental risk assessment and dialogue.
Ecological/Environmental SLAPP Case Studies
Community social organization is transformed negatively by SLAPPs, and their
results extend across the nation. Determining SLAPPs comprehensive direct and indirect
impacts to society is next to impossible, since the resulting fear and intimidation restricts
responses to surveys and studies. Pring and Canan (1996) have studied hundreds of
SLAPP case studies, and set an important timeline for information by their book
publication. They also find intangible and immeasurable impacts that inhibit
understanding of SLAPPs consequences, since citizen responses and participation are
lacking and inhibited by fear. Yet, apparent lengthy and expensive legal defenses, along
16. 16
with other negative consequences, are revealed in SLAPP case studies.
Eco-SLAPP Case Study Results Before 1996
Objections to environmental damaging activities have been repressed throughout
human existence. Just after the United States’ independence from England, citizens were
fined and prosecuted for speaking out against corrupt government officials. Not until 150
years later did SLAPPs reappear from disputes over the Wilderness Act of 1964. The
Sierra Club’s battles over natural resource extraction since the 19th century was the target
of the first officially reported Eco-SLAPP, Sierra Club v. Butz (Pring & Canan, 1996).
This Humboldt Fir counterclaim in 1972 was filed immediately after the Sierra Club’s
federal court challenge to logging a virgin forest of Northwestern California in what
would become the Salmon-Trinity Alps Wilderness. This Humboldt Fir Eco-SLAPP of
$1,750,000 was defeated and set judicial precedence, yet not without extensive expense
and a resulting chill echoed throughout the environmental movement.
The Sierra Club and other environmental activist groups are common targets of
Eco-SLAPPs, with an ultimate goal of establishing fear and to suppress activism
objection. Not all Eco-SLAPPs target environmental activist groups; land trusts and
preservation groups have also been SLAPPed. The Nature Conservancy (TNC), an ultra-
business like group, was the target of a $2,790,000 lawsuit in 1974 by seaweed-farm
developers in the San Juan Islands north of Seattle (Pring & Canan, 1996). This TNC
ecological strategic lawsuit arrived from inventorying potential natural areas and
recommending preservation to the county government. Pring and Canan (1996) mention
the court dismissed the case, then the appeals court affirmed it, yet the Eco-SLAPP of
17. 17
this simple study dragged on for over fours years resulting in extensive expense, and
created a shock wave of intimidation throughout land trusts.
Land use and development soon became a major dispute involving SLAPPs.
With the national housing and development boom in the 1980s, an onslaught of SLAPPs
emerged against citizens concerned over sprawl and sustainable development. In
Jefferson County, CO after two years of dispute over a 500 acre development site,
developers Gayno, Inc. filed suit during 1980 for $40,000,000, Protect Our Mountain
Environment v. District Court (POME) (O’Neil, 2011). POME is one of the most well
known case studies, which exemplified SLAPPs’ resource-draining effects and citizen
participation inhibition. This NGO eventually won the SLAPP after four years in court
and the 500 acre site was preserved as open space. Yet POME and environmental
activism became a loser. This costly six year battle with Gayno bankrupted POME, its
leaders dropped out of politics, and local citizens think twice about speaking out as the
saying “Remember POME” has the opposite force of “Remember the Alamo” (Pring &
Canan, 1996).
Eco-SLAPP Case Study Results After 1996
Suppression of public involvement in environmental policy since 1996 has
continued and even increased in some states that lack Anti-SLAPP statutes. SLAPP
disputes in both Michigan and Nebraska settled in 2008 show the different results of
having Anti-SLAPP or not. In 2006, the Ecology Center and two members of the
Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics were SLAPPed for $9,300,000
by Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals over a campaign to restrict use of pharmaceutical
18. 18
lindane, Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. The National Pediculosis Association
(www.anti-slapp.org, 2011). Morton Grove settled the case with no money changing
hands, yet won the political dispute by forcing the Ecology Center to edit their website.
This is a clear example of dispute transformation, which shifts the dispute away from the
environmental damage (Pring, 1989). Without a Michigan Anti-SLAPP statute and
confronted with the power of the pharmaceutical industry, the Ecology Center had little
choice then to suppress its concerns over toxic chemicals (www.anti-slapp.org, 2011).
Many people speaking out and monitoring polluters in Michigan are inhibited by the fear
of SLAPPs, since no Michigan or federal Anti-SLAPP exists.
Another SLAPP settled in 2008 shows the importance of having Anti-SLAPP
legislation. In 2000 two Nebraska farmers were SLAPPed by Furnas County Farms for
written comments filed with state regulators about Furnas’ environmental record, Sand
Livestock Sys. V. Svoboda (www.anti-slapp.org). The two local farmers filed a
counterclaim under the Nebraska Anti-SLAPP. This action leveled the dispute and
stopped a conviction and the defamation fines. Their Anti-SLAPP was won in 2005, with
an award of $900,000 plus legal fees, yet was overturned by the appeals court three years
later. This Anti-SLAPP prevented a SLAPP award, but did cost the local farmers eight
years of legal fees and inhibited dialogues on environmental risk.
In another case study, dialogues and monitoring of environmental risk in Rodeo,
CA initiated unique community activism methods (Bucket Brigades), and eventually
proved the importance of Anti-SLAPP legislation. The California petrochemical
facilities of Tosco-Unocal and Chevron experienced repeated fires, explosions, and
chemical releases throughout the 1990s (O’Rourke & Macey, 2003). Citizens in Rodeo,
19. 19
CA took action by developing bucket brigades, and hired a lawyer after a significant
industrial accident. Over a period of two weeks, Unocal exposed the Rodeo, CA
community to an estimated 200 tons of the toxic refinery catalyst Catacarb (Overdevest
& Mayer, 2008). While a civil case was pending, community members were empowered
by monitoring Unocal’s and other polluters’ fence lines with low cost air-quality plastic
buckets devices. The civil case was won with monetary awards for the community.
Their effective citizen involvement holding polluters accountable with buckets was
adopted across the U.S. and eventually around the world.
The strong prospects of Bucket Brigades as a community activism tool
empowered the San Francisco community to engage in risk dialogues. Denny Larson, a
environmental justice activist working with Communities for a Better Environment
(CBE), formalized the Bucket Brigade as an organizing model and developed the Global
Community Monitor (Overdevest & Mayer, 2008). With Bucket Brigades spreading
around the world, industrial polluters became concerned over citizens monitoring and
implementing risk dialogues. Violations of the Clean Air Act caused lawsuits to emerge
from Bucket Brigades’ monitoring and action. In 1999, the CBE was SLAPPed in
federal court by Tosco to deter pollution lawsuits, Tosco v. Communities for Better
Environments (www.anti-slapp.org). This suit was filed in federal court to avoid
California’s Anti-SLAPP law, and was dismissed for lack of subject jurisdiction. This
dismissal indicates the importance of Anti-SLAPP legislation, which fueled citizen
participation in environmental monitoring and risk dialogues.
20. 20
Conclusion
An investigation of SLAPPs reveals a need for Anti-SLAPPs to allow citizen
participation and development of risk dialogues. Individual citizens and NGOs are the
targets of an onslaught of SLAPPs, as thousands of SLAPPs are filed each year (Tebo,
2005). Citizen participation in environmental policy, like the Bucket Brigades, is
essential for holding polluters accountable, enhancing community trust, and developing
effective risk dialogues and assessment (Carolan & Bell, 2003). Tosco and other
polluters have reduced emissions because of Bucket Brigades’ increased monitoring and
risk dialogues (O’Rourke & Macey, 2003). Anti-SLAPP legislation discourages the
polluter’s approach of intimidation, and their attempts at transforming the dispute
dialogue.
Social organization relies on citizen trust in the process of policy decisions. For
effective environmental policy, public participation is an essential component of risk
dialogues. A sense of trust in the policy process is the foundation for dialogues of risk
rationality (Bell, 2011). Without public participation holding polluters accountable,
regulation agencies struggle to monitor pollution and enforce environmental laws.
Citizens and NGOs can’t let SLAPPs inhibit voicing concerns to legislatures.
Many legislatures have recognized the value and necessity of citizen enforcement
of environmental laws. Legislatures’ recognition is demonstrated by including citizen-
suit provisions in the Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund), the Solid Waste Disposal Act, and the
Clean Air Act (Stetson, 1995). With large regions to regulate, government agencies rely
on citizen monitoring. SLAPPs deter public involvement that is required in major
21. 21
environmental statutes.
SLAPP case studies involving development, pollution, and preservation disputes
show consequences to social organization and environmental policy. SLAPPs countered
the environmental movement and have increased since the 1970. SLAPPs result in
expensive litigation, refocused resources, and intimidation. Additional negative
consequences also include fear and inaction, but are difficult to determine. For dialogues
of risk to influence environmental policy, the federal government and all states should
adopt Anti-SLAPP laws. These Anti-SLAPPs are essential for social and environmental
protection.
22. 22
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