'Think Globally, Act Locally'? Climate Change and Public Participation in Manchester and Frankfurt

D. Shelton. American Journal of International Law, 88 (4), 1994.

'Think Globally, Act Locally' was one of the most famous slogans of the 1970s environmental movement. Discourses about global climate change are now a vivid illustration of this "global thinking." Although there is a substantial amount of research about global environmental issues and policy initiatives, there is still a gap in understanding of how lay publics actually comprehend global climate change. Using qualitative research method, this study is a comparison of how lay publics in Frankfurt (Germany) and Manchester (UK) perceive these issues and the possible solutions.

Resource Link: http://www.asil.org

A Citizens' Jury Study of National Park Management

RF James and RK Blamey.

This report provides information regarding the first of two citizens' juries conducted under this project, the 'Citizens' Juries for Environmental Management: An Alternative to CBA?', funded by the Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation (LWRRDC). The details of establishment and operation of the jury and the content and outcomes of the jury's deliberations are provided.

Resource Link: http://cjp.anu.edu.au/pubs.html

A Green Grassroots Revolution

Bill McAuliffe. Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, April 22, 2007.

Nan Skelton at the University of Minnesota brought this article to our attention, which she says is a great local story that shows the Mayors in St. Paul and Minneapolis beginning to make the paradigm shift to a culture of citizen-government partnership. The subtitle of this article is "It's called global warming, but cities and towns, including the Twin Cities, are waging the war."

Resource Link: http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1137316.html

A Summary of Citizen Participation Methods for the Waterfront Development Project in Oconto, Wisconsin

Kevin Silveira, Ron Shaffer and Chris Behr, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension.

The City of Oconto and the National Coastal Resources Institute sought to evaluate and integrate information on the economic and environmental impacts of waterfront development. A significant dimension of that effort was to go beyond the technical dimension of those decisions, and address the equally important local perceptions and concerns regarding the waterfront. This review of various techniques for gathering citizen input and encouraging involvement was originally prepared as background to the project team to help them involve Oconto residents in the decisions regarding the waterfront. The authors recommend that you use the document as a starting, not ending, point for building a citizen involvement strategy.

Resource Link: http://www.aae.wisc.edu/cced/931.pdf

After the Storm: Working Through the Implications of Hurricane Katrina

Public Agenda.

The aftermath of Katrina raises questions about poverty, race, energy policy, the federal budget, in fact just about every corner of American society and the purpose of government itself. Public Agenda Issue Guides or ?“Citizen Choicework Guides?” contain background information on the topic and present three different approaches to the issue for people to deliberate.

Resource Link: http://www.publicagenda.org/specials/katrina/katrina.cfm

Americans for Informed Democracy's Organizers Toolkit - Securing the Future

Now more than ever, Americans are asking serious questions about how the changing global environment is impacting all of our lives. Research shows us that climate instability and oil dependence are not just environmental concerns, but problems that will affect the national security, economy and health of our country. Americans for Informed Democracy is thus focusing its Securing the Future initiative about the changing global environment on specifically climate and energy issues.

Resource Link: http://www.aidemocracy.org/securethefuture.doc

America?’s Global Role Issue Guide

Public Agenda.

September 11th dramatically recast how the U.S. engages the world. The U.S. remains, as it has for the past decade, the world's sole remaining superpower. The question of how we relate to the world -- whether on economic globalization, the environment, human rights, global health crises, relations with China and Russia -- needs to be addressed, whatever happens in the struggle with al Qaeda. Public Agenda Issue Guides or ?“Citizen Choicework Guides?” contain background information on the topic and present three different approaches to the issue for people to deliberate.

Resource Link: http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/frontdoor.cfm?issue_type=americas_global_role

Andrus Family Fund

AFF funds community reconciliation projects within the United States that put their Collaborative Change Approach to the test in addressing one of AFF's three priority issues: identity-based conflict, police-community conflict and conservation conflict. Presently, AFF does not fund international projects, although it will consider supporting international research that will inform our domestic work. AFF also funds programs that help people leaving the foster care system transition to independence.

Resource Link: http://www.affund.org

Awakening Participation: Building Capacity for Public Participation in Environmental Decisionmaking

The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, 1996.

This REC Public Participation Training Module / Participant Workbook reinforces the REC's ongoing commitment to increasing public participation in environmental decision making. The Training Project is an outgrowth of the expertise gained through several years of REC policy research and cooperation with environmental leaders throughout the region on public participation issues, and following the development of a series of REC public participation workshops and publications. This Training Project addresses the needs to overcome local obstacles to effectively involve the public in environmental decision making processes.

Resource Link: http://www.rec.org/REC/Publications/PPTraining/cover.html

Backcasting

Backcasting is a method of analysing alternative futures, often energy futures. Its major distinguishing characteristic is a concern with how desirable futures can be attained. It involves working backward from a desired future end point or set of goals to the present to determine the physical feasibility of that particular future and the policy measures that would be required to reach that end point. End points are usually chosen for a time 25 to 50 years in the future.

Bringing Local Knowledge into Environmental Decision Making: Improving Urban Planning for Communities at Risk

Jason Coburn. Journal of Planning Education and Research, Vol.22 (2003): 420-433, 2003.

This article reveals how local knowledge can improve planning for communities facing the most serious environmental and health risks. Community participation in environmental decisions is putting pressure on planners to find new ways of fusing the expertise of scientists with insights from the local knowledge of communities. This article defines local knowledge, reveals how it differes from professional knowledge, and argues that local knowledge can improve planning in at least four ways: 1) adding to the knowledge base of environmental policy; 2) including new and previously silenced voices; 3) providing low-cost policy solutions; and 4) highlighting inquitable distributions of environmental burdens.

Resource Link: http://jpe.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/4/420

C.S. Mott Foundation

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, a private philanthropy based in Flint, Michigan, makes grants in the U.S. and selected regions internationally through four programs: Civil Society, Environment, Pathways Out of Poverty, and Flint Area. Through its four programs, and their more specific program areas, the Foundation seeks to fulfill its mission of supporting efforts that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society.

Resource Link: http://www.mott.org

Case Study of the Fernald, Ohio Citizens Advisory Board

Sandy Heierbacher. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003.

FCAB provides advice to the U.S. Department of Energy on issues pertaining to the remediation (clean-up) of the DOE site in Fernald, Ohio. The site was used to produce uranium for nuclear weapons from 1951 to 1989, during which time over one million pounds of uranium were released into the surrounding environment. FCAB recommendations and advice provide the DOE with an understanding of the issues and concerns that are important to local stakeholders and ensure that these perspectives influence activities pertaining to the clean-up and future use of the Fernald site.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Fernald_case.doc

Case Study of the Health Effects Institute

Sandy Heierbacher. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003.

HEI is an independent, nonprofit corporation chartered in 1980 to provide high-quality, impartial and relevant scientific information on the health effects of emissions from motor vehicles and other sources of environmental pollution. HEI is funded equally by the EPA and the motor vehicle industry. Although not a public participation program, HEI was examined because of its ability to remain neutral, retain the respect of all stakeholders, and produce high-quality research findings on the health effects of a variety of pollutants.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Health_Effects_Inst_case.doc

Case Study of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council

Sandy Heierbacher. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003.

NEJAC was created in 1993 as a part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?’s Office of Environmental Justice. NEJAC helps the OEJ address environmental justice issues and integrate environmental justice into the EPA?’s policies, programs and activities. It does this by bringing community, industry and state/local government groups together to find solutions to environmental justice problems and by providing the EPA with independent advice and recommendations on matters related to environmental justice.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/NEJAC_case.doc

Charrettes

Charrettes are typically a potent combination of modern design studio and town meeting, with a dash of the teamwork from an old-fashioned barnraising mixed in. Most start with a hands-on session for citizens and continue in an around-the-clock, energetic push until a plan is finished about a week later. A charrette can be a breakthrough event that helps overcome inertia and creates a meaningful master plan. Properly executed, this technique can produce a master plan that is more useful, better understood, and more quickly produced than one formed by other methods.

Resource Link: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/pittd/charrett.htm

Collaborative Governance in the CALFED Program: Adaptive Policy Making for California Water

Judith E. Innes, Sarah Connick, Laura Kaplan, and David E. Booher.

A new, collaborative model of governance has emerged in the CALFED program, which manages much of California's vast water system. This model emerged out of many years of dialogue among the state's major stakeholders and public agency leaders frustrated by the inability of traditional governance by the three branches - executive, legislative and judicial - to establish significant policy to address the competing needs of the environment and urban and agricultural water users. This paper reports on our research into the history, logic, and workings of this evolving program from its inception as an informal memorandum among agencies in 1994 to its 2004 incarnation with a formal, legislatively established oversight authority.

Resource Link: http://www.csus.edu/ccp/publications/WP-2006-01.pdf

Common Ground: The Future of Iowa

The Wallace Foundation's project 'Common Ground: The Future of Iowa - Convening Community Dialogue to Build a Shared Vision of a Sustainable Future' used the play American Dreamer as a catalyst to engage citizens in discussions about pressing issues of developing a vision of a sustainable future. As the project progressed, displays were produced to summarize the process and the outcomes in each county. Photographers were hired to help portray the land, people, and attractions; writers provided their perceptions of each county, a 15-minute documentary was created as a summary of the project.

Resource Link: http://www.wallace.org

Community Based Collaboratives Research Consortium

CBCRC is a network of researchers, mediators and facilitators, government agencies, community groups and environmental groups which seek to understand and assess local collaborative efforts involving natural resources and community development. CBCRC provides a venue for the sharing of research, evaluation and case studies; emerging stewardship issues and practice; and policy outcomes concerning community based collaborative processes.

Resource Link: http://www.CBCRC.org

Cottonwood Foundation

Cottonwood Foundation provides small grants to grassroots nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and worldwide that are working for a sustainable future by combining all of the following: protecting the environment, promoting cultural diversity, empowering people to meet their basic needs, and relying on volunteer efforts.

Resource Link: http://www.cottonwoodfdn.org