Global Environmental Justice

The term “environmental justice” carries with it a sort of ambiguity. On the one hand, it refers to a movement of social activism in which those involved fight and argue for fairer, more equitable distribution of environmental goods and equal treatment of environmental duties. This movement is related to, and ideally informed by, the second use of the term, which refers to the academic discipline associated with legal regulations and theories of justice and ethics with regard to sustainability, the environment, and ecology. It is this latter, more academic—though vast and interdisciplinary—use of the term that is the subject of this essay. However, activists who pay careful attention to the arguments offered with regard to the political, legal, social, and philosophical treatments of these issues are potentially in a stronger position with regard to their own social movement. In that way, the two uses of the term may progress hand in hand. More broadly, however, the foundational claim about which both grassroots activists and legal, ethical, and policy advocates can agree is that environmental burdens—climate change, pollution, and their associated health risks—are borne disproportionately by the poorest and most vulnerable populations, and tend to have the greatest impact on racial and ethnic minorities, no matter where they are in the world. This is what makes the empirical questions about the environment a normative question about justice

Night Moment and Spring

Poems include: Night Moment , by Robert Schalk and Spring , by Wyoming Robinso

The Role of Causation in Decision of Tort Law

Tort law depends on three key concepts: causation, responsibility, and fault. However, I argue that the three key concepts are neither necessary, nor sufficient, for tort

The Effect of Lower Surface Spoilers on the Transonic Trim Change of a Wind-Tunnel Model of a Fighter Airplane Having a Modified Delta Wing

In an attempt to find an aerodynamic means of counteracting the transonic trim change of a fighter airplane, lower surface spoilers were tested on a 0.055-scale wind-tunnel model. The Mach number range of the tests was 0.8 to 1.2 at Reynolds numbers of approximately 4 million. Although the spoilers produced a moderate decrease in the trim change at low altitudes, they also produced a large increase in drag. Pressure-distribution tests with external fuel tanks showed large pressure changes on the lower surface of the wing due to the tanks

Public Perceptions of the Midwest’s Pavements: Policies and Thresholds

A 5-year, pooled fund study with the Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin departments of transportation assessed the public\u27s perceptions of pavement improvement strategies and developed thresholds of satisfaction using the departments\u27 physical indices, such as pavement ride and condition on rural, two-lane highways in the states. Approximately 3,600 drivers in the three states were involved in the three phases of the project, which included 18 focus groups, 400 statewide surveys in each state, and 2,300 targeted surveys across the three states. A multidisciplinary team from Marquette University and a mass media survey lab conducted the studies. A summary of focus group methods and purposes and a three-state summary of policy and improvement issues are provided. More than 450 highway segments were surveyed in Phase III, with input from 2,300 drivers through a two-step recruitment and postdrive interview. Thresholds of International Roughness Index and condition indices are summarized for the three states. The study found a high degree of trust in the three departments of transportation and public support for building longer-lasting pavements and minimizing delay. A three-step methodology is recommended for other state studies. Physical data thresholds using both public satisfaction and the agreement to improve are presented for each state\u27s physical pavement indices (ride and condition)

Public Perceptions of Wisconsin’s Pavements and Tradeoffs in Pavement Improvement

Findings are reported from Phase II of a three-phase pooled-fund project in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota to determine perceptions of drivers regarding pavement of rural two-lane highways. Among the survey topics were drivers\u27 trust in the state department of transportation (DOT), pavement improvement trade-offs, and pavement evaluation. Results of the Wisconsin portion of the survey data are the focus of this study. The survey questionnaire was based in part on Phase I focus groups conducted to gauge beliefs about pavements as well as the language describing ruts, tining, and other pavement characteristics. Phase II entailed a statewide telephone survey of at least 400 randomly selected drivers in each of the three states. Although the focus here is on Wisconsin results, survey responses across the three states were very consistent. Included in the findings discussed are perceptions of pavement and the state DOT and pavement improvement options relating to construction, travel time, and delays. Results disclose key public perceptions of priorities with regard to spending limited funds. Also discussed are statistically significant relationships providing additional insights into public perceptions and pavement improvement on rural two-lane highways

Public Perceptions of the Midwest’s Pavements - Minnesota - Executive Summary

This report summarizes Minnesota results of a five year, Pooled Fund study involving the Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota DOTs designed to 1) assess the public\u27s perceptions of the departments’ pavement improvement strategies and 2) to develop customer-based thresholds of satisfaction with pavements on rural two lane highways in each state as related to the Departments’ physical indices, such as pavement ride and condition. The primary objective was to seek systematic customer input to improve the Departments’ pavement improvement policies by 1) determining how drivers perceive the departments’ pavements in terms of comfort and convenience but also in terms of other tradeoffs departments had not previously considered, 2) determining relationships between perceptions and measured pavement condition thresholds (including a general level of tolerance of winter ride conditions in two of the states), and 3) identifying important attributes and issues that may not have been considered in the past. Secondary objectives were 1) to provide a tool for systematic customer input in the future and 2) provide information which can help structure public information programs. A University of Wisconsin-Extension survey lab conducted the surveys under the direction of a multi-disciplinary team from Marquette University. Approximately 4500 drivers in the three states participated in the three phases of the project. Researchers conducted six focus groups in each state, approximately 400 statewide telephone interviews in each state and 700-800 targeted telephone interviews in each state. Approximately 400 winter ride interviews were conducted in Wisconsin and Minnesota. A summary of the method for each survey is included. In Phase I, focus groups were conducted with drivers to get an initial indication of what the driving public believes in regards to pavements and to frame issues for inclusion in the more representative state-wide surveys of drivers conducted in Phase II of the project. Phase II interviews gathered information about improvement policy trade-off issues and about preliminary thresholds of improvement in terms of physical pavement indices. In Phase III, a two-step recruitment and post-drive interview procedure yielded thresholds of ride and condition index summarized for each state. Results show that, in general, the driving public wants longer lasting pavements and are willing to pay for them. They want to minimize construction delay, improve entire sections of highway at one time but they dislike detours, and prefer construction under traffic even if it stretches out construction time. Satisfaction with pavements does not correlate directly to a high degree with physical pavement indices, but was found instead to be a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon. A psychological model (after Fishbein/Ajzen) was applied to explain satisfaction to a respectable degree (R2 of .67) for the social sciences. Results also indicate a high degree of trust in the three DOTs which is enhanced when the public is asked for input on specific highway segments. Conclusions and recommendations include a three-step methodology for other state studies. Physical data thresholds based on both public satisfaction and the agreement to improve are presented for each state\u27s physical pavement indices (ride and condition). Recommendations for changes to the quality ranges of the physical indices where appropriate are also made

Public Perceptions of the Midwest’s Pavements - Iowa - Phase III

There are several objectives to this report. The first objective is to describe the sample with regard to the physical pavement data and three measures of driver satisfaction. In this section, the proportion of respondents who are satisfied with pavements on two-lane, rural, state highways will be examined and the distribution of pavement condition and roughness indices will be presented. The second objective will be a short description of the highway segments and any differences in satisfaction found between regions and pavement types. This was done in Phase II in each state and a letter sent showing the results in all three states. That letter sets forth the revised work plan and budget for Phase III of the project. The third objective is to describe the relationship between physical pavement characteristics and driver satisfaction. This will include a description of both the magnitude of relationship as well as identifying critical International Road Index (IRI) and Pavement Condition Index (PCI) cutoffs where a majority of the sample were satisfied. This will be done for comparative purposes with the Phase II approach, using the total sample to compute cumulative percentages responding to each of the three series of satisfaction questions