Natural Resources and Water and Climate Justice Capstone 2024
Five teams working with Professor Iris Stewart-Frey worked on projects that focused on integrating environmental science and spatial analysis with questions of sustainability and justice.
One group, working with Catholic Charities Stockton, investigated the likely impacts of a proposed carbon storage facility on environmental justice communities in Stockton using a GIS-based feasibility analysis, a field visit, and background research. The students were invited to present their findings at a Stockton community meeting. Another group worked with the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory to explore the behavior of different species of sparrows in flocks through field data collection and analysis. The team ventured out in the mornings with their muddy boots and binoculars to spot those early birds getting the worms. Understanding how different species interact in flocks supports restoration efforts. A third group collaborated with the Center for Sustainability on campus to make move-out less wasteful - this team surveyed hundreds of students, followed up with interviews, and researched what other universities are doing to propose alternative approaches to putting everything into large dumpsters at the end of the year.
Another team working with the California Rural Legal Assistance explored whether solutions under the CV-SALTS process meant to combat widespread nitrate contamination in drinking water in the Central Valley, served Environmental Justice communities. Their findings support advocacy for the human right to water for rural communities dependent on household wells. Last but not least, one student group won Environmental Ethics fellowships and worked together with the Markkula Center of Applied Ethics, Stewart-Frey, and engineering faculty as well as a team of engineering students to investigate the ethical dimensions of the catastrophic 2023 Pajaro Valley levee failure and suggest a new framework centered on environmental justice. The interdisciplinary group used spatial analysis to determine to which extent historically marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by levee failures, and conducted and analyzed interviews with community members to understand their experience during the flood and recovery. A literature review helped to understand how current approaches to risk assessment favor wealthier communities.