Duane A. Gill

The Exxon Valdez and BP Oil Spills A Comparison of Initial Social and Psychological Impacts

The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and the 2010 BP oil spill were the largest and most ecologically damaging releases of oil in North American history. This research provides a comparison of the social and mental health impacts of these two major technological disasters. Random samples of residents of Cordova, Alaska, and south Mobile County, Alabama, were collected 5 months after each event. A standardized indicator of event-related stress was used for both samples. The analysis revealed similarly high levels of initial psychological stress for survivors of both disasters. The strongest predictors of stress were family health concerns, commercial ties to renewable resources, and concern about economic future, economic loss, and exposure to the oil. Drawing on more than 20 years of research on the Exxon Valdez disaster, we discuss implications for residents of Gulf Coast communities.

Technological disaster and chronic community stress

This research examines chronic community stress associated with technological disasters using data from three case studies in the United States: a train derailment and toxic spill, a community contaminated by a superfund hazardous waste site, and an oil spill. Technological disasters are distinguished from natural diasters in terms of community impacts and recovery. Sociological and psychological research suggests that long‐term disruption and stress characterize these events. Results from the three case studies indicate the presence of chronic community stress and a relationship between perceived threat to health and level of community stress. These results are discussed in terms of the characteristics of technological disasters and the programmatic needs to mitigate their consequences.

Disruption and stress in an Alaskan fishing community: initial and continuing impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill:

The study of technological disasters has been characterized by conceptual am biguity and non-ecological considerations of community vulnerability. This re search employs an ecological-symbolic theoretical approach that identifies nat ural resource communities as particularly vulnerable to disasters that contaminate biophysical resources. A longitudinal panel study, including a control community, provides data on disruption and stress experienced by res idents of a small fishing community in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The analysis reveals a continuing pattern of stress and disruptions some 18 months following the spill. The report concludes with a discussion of the specific long- term patterns observed.

SOCIAL CAPITAL THEORY AS AN INTEGRATING THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK IN TECHNOLOGICAL DISASTER RESEARCH

Conceptual and empirical research on technological disasters has produced a number of seminal contributions including concepts of recreancy, collective trauma, lifestyle and lifescape change, corrosive community, secondary trauma, and the ecological-symbolic perspective. This article presents social capital theory as a comprehensive framework that incorporates and integrates these key conceptual elements and theories. After presenting fundamental elements of social capital theory, we demonstrate how key concepts in technological disaster research relate to social capital. We conclude that while social capital theory has merit and potential for improving our understanding of all disaster events, it is particularly useful in comprehending the multifarious impacts of technological disasters.

SECONDARY TRAUMA OR SECONDARY DISASTER? INSIGHTS FROM HURRICANE KATRINA

Hurricane Katrina is destined to become one of the most studied disasters in U.S. history. This manuscript offers a sociology of disaster framework in which to situate past, on-going, and future research on this event. By examining Katrina on a continuum of natural and technological disasters, we are able to gain insights into the different paths of impact and recovery taken by New Orleans and the rest of the disaster-stricken region. Specifically, this disaster has produced a series of secondary traumas that continue to thwart recovery efforts. Understanding these secondary traumas can lead to amelioration of their effects and development of responses to diminish their occurrence in future disasters.

Civic Responsibility and the Environment: Linking Local Conditions to Community Environmental Activeness

In this article, we examine the extent to which variations in local social, economic, and spatial conditions might account for variation in community environmental activeness across 208 communities falling within nonmetropolitan areas in Mississippi. We use GIS technology to identify community boundaries, and use key informant and census data to measure community attributes. The findings indicate that community environmental activeness tends to be higher among communities that provide greater access to social capital. The level of community environmental activeness was also found to rest on the size of a community and its regional location. Community activeness increases with the size of community, but it decreases when a community is situated in an economically and socially disadvantaged region. Similarly, community activeness was found to be low in communities with low levels of education.

Social disruption and the Valdez oil spill: Alaskan natives in a natural resource community

This study presents a conceptual model for examining the social impacts of the Valdez oil spill on natural resource‐dependent communities. Data on social and subsistence disruption experienced by Alaskan natives are analyzed for two time periods: 1989 and 1990. The results reveal substantial uncertainty and disruption, with indications of changing patterns for long‐term social impacts. The study concludes with recommendations for restoration and recovery suggested from the results of our data analysis and the natural resource community model.

Units of Analysis and the Environmental Justice Hypothesis: The Case of Industrial Hog Farms

Objective. In environmental justice research, different-sized units of analysis have generated mixed results, begging the question of what constitutes the most appropriate unit of analysis. Grappling with this question raises both conceptual and methodological issues. In this article, it is argued that, conceptually, community should be the most important unit of analysis and that, methodologically, units should be selected through an appropriate sampling procedure. These issues are addressed through an investigation of the locations of industrial hog farms in Mississippi. Methods. A geographic information system procedure was used to identify community areas and to select the sample of units. The identified community areas were compared to counties, ZIP code areas, census tracts, and census block groups through a bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results. Race was the only variable that was consistently not found to be significant across all units. For the remaining variables—income, education, and industry—results were mixed across units. Conclusions. This research confirms that units of different size generate different results. We argue that the decision about the most appropriate unit of analysis should be conceptually rather than statistically determined and that community is the most important unit of analysis because it holds both legal and social authority to raise concern about environmentally controversial facilities.

A SPATIALLY EXPLICIT MODEL, DERIVED FROM DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES, TO PREDICT ATTITUDES TOWARD BLACK BEAR RESTORATION

Abstract Understanding human attitudes often is vital to the success of restoration projects, especially those involving controversial species such as carnivores. Support for restoration activities may differ depending on residence location of the respondent; thus, understanding the spatial distribution of attitudes is important when selecting suitable restoration sites. We used black bear (Ursus americanus) restoration as an example of how to calculate and use a spatially explicit model of human attitudes based on demographic variables to select restoration sites in Mississippi, USA. We sampled 2 populations (5,975 landowners adjacent to 10 public land areas and a random sample of 490 Mississippians) to determine human attitudes toward black bear reintroduction in Mississippi. We chose a series of reintroduction and demographic questions to develop 2 logistic regression models to predict support for reintroduction, and we validated the models. One model was developed on all demographic variables (how many acres respondents owned in Mississippi and for how long, as well as their age, sex, education, income, community size, and race) to determine the relationship between support for reintroduction and demographic variables. The second model used only age, race, and sex demographic variables. Age, community size, race, sex, and number of years of landownership were significant predictors of support for bear restoration for the first model; and age, race, and sex were significant predictors for the second model. Using the second model and the U.S. Census Bureau (1990) block group data, we predicted the proportion of each block group supporting restoration. Most of Mississippi had block groups with >50% support for bear restoration. We were able to determine a statewide distribution of attitudes. Additionally, we documented that attitudes of landowners immediately adjacent to public land may differ from those of residents of the area surrounding the public land (both adjacent and not). We suggest using our approach for other restoration projects to better integrate human attitudes into the restoration program.

The Importance of Environmental Quality and Catch Potential to Fishing Site Selection by Freshwater Anglers in Mississippi

Abstract We measured the importance of 24 fishing site attributes to Mississippi freshwater anglers. Factor analysis identified four multiattribute factors as important in the selection of fishing location: CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, CATCH, COST AND HARVEST, and AMENITIES AND SAFETY. In general, the importance of site selection factors differed little among anglers grouped by preferred type of fish, preferred fishing location (lakes and reservoirs, rivers and streams, ponds, or reservoir tailwaters), usual manner of fishing (engine-powered boat, nonpowered boat, or shore), or change in fishing frequency. COST AND HARVEST was more important to anglers with high harvest orientations. We found low correlations between site selection factor importance scores and angler age, fishing frequency, fishing expenditures, or fishing motivation factors. We suggest that the general lack of differences in site selection factors among angler groups indicates that management strategies to improve fishing site attributes should be...