Ramey, Andrew Scott
(2009)
A New Way to Save the Bay: How the Evolving Relationship Between Environmentalists and Chicken Growers Changed Chesapeake Bay Environmentalism.
Undergraduate Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
This document is an analysis of how the relationship between environmentalists, specifically within the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, worked with chicken growers in the Delmarva Peninsula to develop a new strategy for environmental protection and environmental justice within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In the summer of 1997, the microorganism Pfiesteria killed thousands of fish and made over two dozen people sick. Scientists linked the outbreak of Pfiesteria to chicken farms in Maryland, and the debate over what to do about Pfiesteria set the stage for a new political alliance between environmentalists and chicken growers. Two individuals, Michael Heller and Jim Lewis, were especially important in bringing the formerly adversarial groups together to tackle the problem nutrient pollution from chicken farms caused for the Chesapeake Bay. The key to success for the environmentalists and chicken growers was an open dialogue facilitated by Heller, on behalf of the environmentalists, and Lewis, representing the chicken growers. Environmentalists learned that the chicken growers were not financially capable of meeting the demands nutrient control legislation made on them to clean up chicken manure from their farms, and as a result, they were able to help legislators design new programs to help growers comply with the law. This thesis reaches the conclusion that no single strategy or approach is enough to completely solve the problems modern society poses for the environment; however, the communication and cooperation displayed by environmentalists and chicken growers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is an encouraging sign that different groups can work together and synthesize a solution that combines many different approaches to reach mutual goals.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
1 June 2009 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
23 March 2009 |
| Approval Date: |
1 June 2009 |
| Submission Date: |
26 May 2009 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > History
David C. Frederick Honors College |
| Degree: |
BPhil - Bachelor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Undergraduate Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Chesapeake Bay; Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Chicken Industry; Delmarva Poultry Justice Alliance; Environmentalism; Pfiesteria; nutrient pollution; regional cooperation |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-05262009-154558/, etd-05262009-154558 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 19:45 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:44 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/7957 |
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