%% This is file `elsarticle-template-1-num.tex',
%%
%% Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd
%%
%% This file is part of the 'Elsarticle Bundle'.
%% ---------------------------------------------
%%
%% It may be distributed under the conditions of the LaTeX Project Public
%% License, either version 1.2 of this license or (at your option) any
%% later version. The latest version of this license is in
%% http://www.latex-project.org/lppl.txt
%% and version 1.2 or later is part of all distributions of LaTeX
%% version 1999/12/01 or later.
%%
%% The list of all files belonging to the 'Elsarticle Bundle' is
%% given in the file `manifest.txt'.
%%
%% Template article for Elsevier's document class `elsarticle'
%% with numbered style bibliographic references
%%
%% $Id: elsarticle-template-1-num.tex 149 2009-10-08 05:01:15Z rishi $
%% $URL: http://lenova.river-valley.com/svn/elsbst/trunk/elsarticle-template-1-num.tex $
%%
\documentclass[preprint,12pt]{elsarticle}
%% Use the option review to obtain double line spacing
%% \documentclass[preprint,review,12pt]{elsarticle}
%% Use the options 1p,twocolumn; 3p; 3p,twocolumn; 5p; or 5p,twocolumn
%% for a journal layout:
%% \documentclass[final,1p,times]{elsarticle}
%% \documentclass[final,1p,times,twocolumn]{elsarticle}
%% \documentclass[final,3p,times]{elsarticle}
%% \documentclass[final,3p,times,twocolumn]{elsarticle}
%% \documentclass[final,5p,times]{elsarticle}
%% \documentclass[final,5p,times,twocolumn]{elsarticle}
%% if you use PostScript figures in your article
%% use the graphics package for simple commands
%% \usepackage{graphics}
%% or use the graphicx package for more complicated commands
%% \usepackage{graphicx}
%% or use the epsfig package if you prefer to use the old commands
%% \usepackage{epsfig}
%% The amssymb package provides various useful mathematical symbols
\usepackage{amssymb}
%% The amsthm package provides extended theorem environments
%% \usepackage{amsthm}
%% The lineno packages adds line numbers. Start line numbering with
%% \begin{linenumbers}, end it with \end{linenumbers}. Or switch it on
%% for the whole article with \linenumbers after \end{frontmatter}.
\usepackage{lineno}
\usepackage{setspace}
%% natbib.sty is loaded by default. However, natbib options can be
%% provided with \biboptions{...} command. Following options are
%% valid:
%% round - round parentheses are used (default)
%% square - square brackets are used [option]
%% curly - curly braces are used {option}
%% angle - angle brackets are used <option>
%% semicolon - multiple citations separated by semi-colon
%% colon - same as semicolon, an earlier confusion
%% comma - separated by comma
%% numbers- selects numerical citations
%% super - numerical citations as superscripts
%% sort - sorts multiple citations according to order in ref. list
%% sort&compress - like sort, but also compresses numerical citations
%% compress - compresses without sorting
%%
%% \biboptions{comma,round}
% \biboptions{}
\journal{AIS 285 - Indigenous Thinkers}
\begin{document}
\begin{frontmatter}
%% Title, authors and addresses
%% use the tnoteref command within \title for footnotes;
%% use the tnotetext command for the associated footnote;
%% use the fnref command within \author or \address for footnotes;
%% use the fntext command for the associated footnote;
%% use the corref command within \author for corresponding author footnotes;
%% use the cortext command for the associated footnote;
%% use the ead command for the email address,
%% and the form \ead[url] for the home page:
%%
%% \title{Title\tnoteref{label1}}
%% \tnotetext[label1]{}
%% \author{Name\corref{cor1}\fnref{label2}}
%% \ead{email address}
%% \ead[url]{home page}
%% \fntext[label2]{}
%% \cortext[cor1]{}
%% \address{Address\fnref{label3}}
%% \fntext[label3]{}
\title{Challenging Environmental Colonialism}
%% use optional labels to link authors explicitly to addresses:
%% \author[label1,label2]{<author name>}
%% \address[label1]{<address>}
%% \address[label2]{<address>}
\author{Anthony Salzetta}
\address{University of Illinois, Indigenous Thinkers}
\doublespacing
\begin{abstract}
%% Text of abstract
In this journal, I will discuss modern day environmental exploitation as it relates to native americans. In my research, I found no shortage of opposition to the dangers of natural resource extraction on tribal lands. While tribes remain sovereign nations, the overarching authority and loopholes of federal and state governments force many indigenous people to remain vulnerable to the violences of capitalism. Against all odds, native individuals and organizations throughout the country, and globe, meet these offenses with fervent opposition. Here, I will explore the tactics and victories of Indigenous North Americans.
\end{abstract}
\end{frontmatter}
%%
%% Start line numbering here if you want
%%
\linenumbers
\doublespace
%% main text
\section{The Environment and Marginalized Communities}
\label{S:1}
It is rare for any critical study of environmental impacts to come uncoupled with a story of social and cultural degradation. Humans have an incredible bond with the land around them, and destroying the land often means crushing those who are inextricably linked to it. If not commonly considered, it is indeed easily understood why, for example, an affluent neighborhood would not desire the construction of a coal-fired power plant or toxic dumping site in its vicinity. Organized groups of people with considerable wealth have considerably greater clout in governmental affairs than their less wealthy counterparts. Thus, environmentally destructive projects most often occur in vulnerable, marginalized communities and further vulnerability and marginalization of these communities. Beyond interfering with ecosystem integrity, natural resource extractors and heavy polluters alter cultural norms, safety, and health. Environmental conquest has become another tool of colonialism by controlling native people's simple rights to clean air and water. Indigenous environmental activism is now yet another facet of the centuries' old battle for self determination.
The freedom of choice and action, or the opportunity to achieve what an individual values and enjoys doing, became an interesting subject of much discussion in the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment. Provided for, to some great extent, by ecosystem services; personal safety, material wellness, health, and social cohesion are incredibly important to maintaining a happy and free way of life. The variety of environmental offenses that occur on Native American soil are primarily results of natural resource extraction and waste storage. Directly, natural resource extraction and natural resource waste storage result in immense air and water pollution that often lead to irreversible health disorders. Indirectly, the influx of non-native migrant workers threatens community safety and brings bouts of violence - especially towards women.
The sections to follow will discuss specific problems, their linkage to national and international struggles, and how brave community members stand together to change the world. The unifying feature of these heart-breaking, yet inspiring stories, is that each is a step towards sovereignty, justice, the freedom to act, and the freedom to an identity. These activists have shown that fighting for change against adversity is never easy, but always worth it.
%%\begin{itemize}
%%\item Bullet point one
%%\item Bullet point two
%%\end{itemize}
%%\begin{enumerate}
%%\item Numbered list item one
%%\item Numbered list item two
%%\end{enumerate}
\subsection{Moapa River Reservation}
About 30 miles north of Las Vegas lies a small Native American Reservation. The Moapa Band of Paiutes is rather small, just over 300, but the threat to their way of life is rather massive. Sitting just outside the tribal boundaries is NV Energy's Reid Gardner coal-fied power plant. The power plant, which stores its coal ash on site, is, in United States senator Harry Reid's words, "literally killing the Paiutes." Despite its crushing effect on the community, the members remain united in their myriad battles against the coal plant.
The deleterious effects of the nearby power plant are mostly the result of the on-site coal ash dump. Coal ash is the combination of two kinds of post-combustion waste. Fly ash, fine particles that float up to be caught by pollution controllers, is collected from the scrubbers; and bottom ash, coarser residue, is collected from the bottom of the furnace. Coal ash is stored at more than 1000 facilities around the United States, and according to the EPA, at 136 Million tons annually it comprises the second largest waste stream in the country. Storage of this waste occurs in two formats - either dammed off in a "pond" after mixture with water, or dry storage in abandoned mines and uncovered vats. At this point, coal ash becomes incredibly prone to leaching into nearby drinking water streams and reservoirs. Leaching occurs when groundwater or rain runoff make contact with the ash, and the toxic chemicals dissolve. They then percolate through the water into surface level rivers, lakes, and wetlands and into groundwater aquifers.
Comprised of more than 25 per cent of the periodic table, including arsenic, mercury, lead, chromium, and selenium, coal ash is regulated even less by the federal government than municipal garbage. This is an incredible insult to frontline communities around the nation, as the Physicians for Social Responsibility reported that if eaten, drunk, or inhaled, this heavy pollutant can cause, among other disorders, "cognitive deficits, developmental delays, behavioral problems, heart damage, lung disease, respiratory distress, kidney disease, reproductive disorders, birth defects, and impaired bone growth."
For years, residents of the Moapa River Reservtion didn't know the dangers of coal ash, or that beyond leaching, they faced the additional threat of deadly winds. As wind blows over the desert and the open ash dump site, it whirls it up into the air and billows through the town just 300 yards away. Tribal elder Calvin Myles, in an interview with Earthjustice, compared it to a sandstorm, "but this," he says,"is a sandstorm that burns your skin, buries your lungs, and kills your neighbors." Regardless of its horrible effect on the indigenous community, according to an Indian Country Today august 2012 article, NV Energy plans to expand the dump site even further. In a conversation with health officials, Myles plead for them to refuse the worsening of what was already unbearable. "I cannot practice my religion anymore," he argued, "I cannot eat my natural foods that we gather, I cannot use the skins anymore of the rabbits that we use for clothing, I cannot use the willows for housing... they're all contaminated." On windy days, when grey clouds envelop the reservation, families shelter away in their houses, but even that doesn't keep them safe. The heavy metals seep through the walls into their homes, schools, and cars. The Reid Gardner plant degrades the Paiutes' health and culture, and they are currently battling it with an extraordinary diversity of tactics.
The Moapa Paiutes are involved in numerous legal battles to end the free reign of coal ash pollution. According to an August 2013 article in the Las Vegas Review Journal, the tribe and the Sierra Club, the oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization in the United States, worked together to sue the Bureau of Land Management and the Southern Nevada Health District for approving NV Energy's plans to enlarge the already incredibly dangerous coal ash open dump site. Additionally, tribal members filed a federal lawsuit to force the energy company to clean up the toxic site with charges of violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Clean Water Act.
In January 2014, after a law suit led by the Earth Justice organization, the Moapa tribe, and 10 other public interest groups, the EPA agreed to finally establish rules regarding the disposal of coal ash by December 19th, 2014. Following years of delay, this rule will come not a day too early. While this does not specify the content of the rules to be established, it is a promising change to end the further destruction of lives and communities around the nation.
In April 2012, the Moapa embarked on a 50 mile Cultural Healing Walk over three days, culminating in a congregation of environmental activists in Las Vegas on Earth Day. The march, done in protest of the power plant, was no doubt a testament to the continued unity and solidarity within the tribe. This energy carried over into a plan approved by the Intereor Department just two months later, in June 2012. The Moapa band of Paiutes would construct the first utility-scale solar energy project on a reservation. According to Indian Country Today, the 350 megawatt solar plant would generate enough power for 100,000 homes. Furthermore, many of the tribe members applaud the plan as a return to energy and life more in-tune with nature.
Despite their efforts to publicize the offenses of heavy polluters, and beat them in and out of court one step at a time, the Moapa people remain forced to undergo the effects of coal ash pollution. Still, as tribal chairman William Anderson revealed, " Every home has someone - or everyone - using a breathing apparatus or inhaler." Deaths are too frequent, and most often those living closest to the facility.
Through each victory and success of the Moapa, they further establish themselves as an independent body seizing of the right to freely live. They fight for the right of children to run around playgrounds and feel safe at school. They fight for the right to practice cultural traditions and hand down family history to the next generation. The NV Energy company has sought to take from them the choice of how to live. Through unwavering individual opposition and alliances with several large advocate agencies, the Moapa will hopefully one day return the power of choice to their people.
\subsection{Elsipogtog Mi'kmaq}
"Oh my gosh, they're going to kill me before hearing me out," Mi'kmaq anti-fracking blockader Amy Sock thought as she fled attack dogs and police armed with snipers and assault riffles. The violent clash between protesters blockading a highway and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on October 17th followed the build-up of several months' resistance to the New Burnswick Premier's desire for a resource boom.
According to an October 2013 article in the Guardian, opposition to fracking in the Elsipogtog region had been growing since 2010, when New Brunswick sold 1.4 million hectares, about one-seventh of the region, to be explored for shale gas drilling. Fracking, short for Hydraulic Fracturing, is an incredibly controversial topic. While some tout the economic benefits, Hydrofracking is thought to be very dangerous to the environment and public health.
In the process of fracking, wells are drilled anywhere from 200 meters to 2.5 kilometers into the ground to reach shale-gas wells. A highly pressurized stream of water, sand, and numerous chemicals is then pumped into the well to shatter the rock deep underground. This releases oil and gas which then is caught upon returning up the well. The process causes two major threats to nearby public health and safety - drinking water pollution and ambient air pollution.
The industry claims that any chemicals used in the process are not harmful to humans and are commonly found materials. According to CBC news, however, these include guar gum, boron, zirconium, titanium, iron, and polyacrylamide. Additionally, the process releases radioactive chemicals barium and strontium and benzene, a dangerous carcinogen. This becomes problematic when well walls fracture and this water and chemical slurry can leach through the ground into drinking water supplies. A staggering figure of 20 per cent of wells, though, according to a recent Cornell University study, fracture immediately upon use. Virtually all wells fracture after 30 years of use, and the question is just of when. Furthermore, there are reports of people being able to light their sink and hose water on fire due to the methane released into the ground.
The air pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing is of equal concern to many. According to a March 2012 study by the Colorado School of Public Health, the fracking process releases benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, heptane, octane, diethylbenzene, and aliaphatic hydrocarbons. Many of these chemicals have respiratory and neurological effects, others are known carcinogens, and still more cause headaches, nausea, skin rashes, eye irritation, sore throats, and difficulty breathing.
As all these public health impacts are focused on the community nearby, and proposed drilling is on traditional Elsipogtog land, it is easy to understand why the Mi'kmaq would be opposed. After months of petitioning, rallying, and big-dogging, the indigenous activists and their allies took one last stand to blockade a road and SWN Resources' access to their seismic testing equipment. Months of peaceful protest ended when several hundred mounties raided the camp with armored troop transports and live ammunition. Panic ensued, six police cars were torched, and 40 protesters were arrested. Little is known of the actual progression of events, and police claims of finding weapons in the camp have been unsubstantiated.
Within 24 hours, as reported by cbc news, over 45 solidarity protests sprung up around Canada highlighting the issues that drove the Elsipogtog blockade. Shannon Houle of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation explained that around the country, protestors stood not just in solidarity with the Mi'kmaq, but the earth and water. The national and provincial governments sought to destroy precious soil and water health on indigenous lands, without approval. The University of Saskatchewan professor Ken Coates explained the 1999 Supreme Court decision that "has made it absolutely, unequivocally clear that First Nations people have to be consulted... and accommodated."
The Elsipogtog people have become a frontline community battling for maintenance of legal and democratic rights. In their struggle to enforce their treaty rights, they became a microphone for the 62 per cent of Canadians, according to The Vancouver Sun, that support a moratorium on Hydraulic Fracturing. Miles Howe, the primary journalist throughout the protest, reported that police attempted to bribe him into becoming an informant, and that over the summer he had seen the RCMP punch women in the mouth, tackle elders, and arrest two women for praying.
Despite heavy resistance by indigenous and non-natives alike, SWN Energy announced that it had completed its seismic testing and would be returning in 2015. Although they only completed 50 per cent of their seismic testing data, it is unclear that they will finish it and it is absolutely clear that they won't release the chemical makeup of their fracking fluids. The Canadian government's actions through this process have been an affront to democracy and indigenous sovereignty. This battle is far from over, and with some luck it will join the 186 other court decisions in the last two decades that have won land-disputes in favor of indigenous Canadians.
\begin{verbatim}
"You're talking drums and feathers versus assault rifles, tasers
and pepper spray... You can't call sending in 200 RCMP with dogs
and snipers, attacking protesters, anything other than hostile.
They made a direct choice to violate the peace treaty."
- Pam Palmater, head of Ryerson's Centre for Indigenous Governance
\end{verbatim}
"When you're a First Nations person, you have a strong connection to Mother Earth ... We're very proud of that. To us, it doesn't matter if they drag us around or throw us in jail," says Amy Sock in an interview with the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society, "We have no other choice. We can't trust the government and we can't trust the RCMP to protect us. We have to do it ourselves." Perhaps the most heartening aspect of the protests is the unfaltering spirit of defiance against a corrupt government that violates sovereign rights. Even today, Indigenous people are fighting to establish their sovereignty, and until each and every battle is won, the world can count on resistance to continue.
\section{Closing Thoughts}
While united in their struggle to establish the basic human right to clean air and water, these indigenous warriors are further united in their overarching war against marginalization by mainstream society. In a speech given the day before the October 17th RCMP raid, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper glorified the pioneers of their nation who "forged an independent country where none would have otherwise existed." Such ignorance is rather reflective of the Western Society he leads. The generally pervasive forgetfulness of the true original inhabitants of this continent is perhaps the greatest threat to indigenous sovereignty, but with each act of resistance and the ability to build on the legal and cultural victories of the past, sovereignty and nationhood becomes less of a pipe dream each day. Native Americans and First Nations will continue to stand strong, and together define their own future, free of federal oppression.
%% The Appendices part is started with the command \appendix;
%% appendix sections are then done as normal sections
%% \appendix
%% \section{}
%% \label{}
%% References
%%
%% Following citation commands can be used in the body text:
%% Usage of \cite is as follows:
%% \cite{key} ==>> [#]
%% \cite[chap. 2]{key} ==>> [#, chap. 2]
%% \citet{key} ==>> Author [#]
%% References with bibTeX database:
\newpage
\section{References}
\begin{enumerate}
\item "An Ill Wind Blows." Earthjustice: Environmental Law: Because the Earth Needs a Good Lawyer. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://earthjustice.org/features/campaigns/an-ill-wind-blows>.
\item "Celebrating An Historic Agreement on Coal Ash." Earthjustice: Environmental Law: Because the Earth Needs a Good Lawyer. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-january/celebrating-an-historic-agreement-on-coal-ash>.
\item "Coal Ash Chronicles." Coal Ash Chronicles. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.coalashchronicles.com/about>.
\item "Coal Ash: Hazardous to Human Health." PSR. Version q. Physicians for Social Responsibility, n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.psr.org/assets/pdfs/coal-ash-hazardous-to-human-health.pdf>.
\item "Coal Combustion Residuals." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/coalashletter.htm>.
\item "Elsipogtog and Fracking protests." home. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.ammsa.com/content/elsipogtog-and-fracking-protests>.
\item "First Nations clash with police at anti-fracking protest | Al Jazeera America." First Nations clash with police at anti-fracking protest | Al Jazeera America. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/the-stream/the-stream-officialblog/2013/10/17/first-nations-clashwithpoliceatantifrackingprotest.html>.
\item Gasland:. Dir. Josh Fox. Perf. Josh Fox. Dogwoof, 2011. Film.
\item "Groundbreaking Report Calculates Damage Done by Fracking." Transforming Green. N.p., 3 Oct. 2013. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://ecowatch.com/2013/10/03/report-calculates-damage-by-fracking/>.
\item Lukacs, Martin. "New Brunswick fracking protests are the frontline of a democratic fight." theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/21/new-brunswick-fracking-protests>.
\item "Maze of Injustice." Amnesty International USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/women-s-rights/violence-against-women/maze-of-injustice>.
\item"Moapa Paiutes Find Solar Solution Amid Coal Ash Plague." Indian Country Today Media Network.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/08/17/moapa-paiutes-find-solar-solution-amid-coal-ash-plague-129554>.
\item "Most Canadians oppose natural-gas 'fracking'." Most Canadians oppose natural-gas 'fracking'. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/archives/story.html?id=932f7379-144d-4d56-98f1-0609ca74fe41>.
\item News, CBC. "FAQs: Hydro-fracking - Technology and Science - CBC News." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 27 Apr. 2011. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/faqs-hydro-fracking-1.976128>.
\item"Other links." Natural Resource Extraction and Indigenous Livelihoods by Emma Gilberthorpe and Gavin Hilson. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409437772>.
\item "RCMP crackdown on Elsipogtog anti-fracking blockade spurs over 50 protests in support." home. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/rcmp-crackdown-elsipogtog-anti-fracking-blockade-spurs-over-50-protests-sup>.
\item Schwartz, Daniel, and Mark Gollom. "N.B. fracking protests and the fight for aboriginal rights - CBC News - Latest Canada, World, Entertainment and Business News." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 13 Apr. 2014. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/n-b-fracking-protests-and-the-fight-for-aboriginal-rights-1.2126515>.
\item "Showdown in Elsipogtog." The Dominion. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://dominion.mediacoop.ca/story/showdown-elsipogtog/20423>.
\item $"TVA Kingston Disaster and Federal Coal Ash Regulations." EARTHJUSTICE. Earth Justice, n.d. Web. 9 May 2014 <http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/TVA_DISASTER_COAL_ASH_TIMELINE_2014.pdf>.$
\item "Tribe, environmentalists sue NV Energy over coal plant waste." Las Vegas Review-Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/crime-courts/tribe-environmentalists-sue-nv-energy-over-coal-plant-waste>.
\item "University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus." Study of health impacts in air near fracking sites. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2014. <http://www.ucdenver.edu/about/newsroom/newsreleases/Pages/health-impacts-of-fracking-emissions.aspx>.
\end{enumerate}
%% Authors are advised to submit their bibtex database files. They are
%% requested to list a bibtex style file in the manuscript if they do
%% not want to use model1-num-names.bst.
%% References without bibTeX database:
% \begin{thebibliography}{00}
%% \bibitem must have the following form:
%% \bibitem{key}...
%%
% \bibitem{}
% \end{thebibliography}
\end{document}
%%
%% End of file `elsarticle-template-1-num.tex'.
