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Muddying the Waters: Protection, Public Participation, and Ambiguity in the Language of Pollution in the Great Lakes
Author(s) -
Harvey T. S.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
culture, agriculture, food and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.308
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 2153-9561
pISSN - 2153-9553
DOI - 10.1111/cuag.12057
Subject(s) - ambiguity , enforcement , environmental planning , business , pollution , public participation , obstacle , environmental protection , environmental resource management , environmental science , political science , computer science , public administration , ecology , law , biology , programming language
Based on the case of the G reat L akes, which is the U nited S tates' largest supply of fresh water and is contaminated by nonpoint source pollution from agricultural runoff, this paper examines the role that language plays in providing definitions for environmental protection and regulation. The interdisciplinary research presented here identifies “agriculturalese” as a specialized and highly technical language of agribusiness and environmental projection, and it considers some of the underinvestigated challenges that its ambiguity and complexity present to lay stakeholders' public participation in environmental decision making, protection, and enforcement.