EXAMINING ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP IN GATES COUNTY, NC: THE COMPETING INTERESTS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL AND MILITARY READINESS
Abstract
Citizens of rural Gates County, NC, have organized to oppose the Navy’s siting of
an outlying landing field (OLF) in their community, which would potentially displace
people from their homes and businesses, restrict access to recreational land, and
introduce noise and pollution. The Navy claims that it needs an OLF supplemental to
its NAS Oceana base in Virginia to support its mission of military readiness. This
study examines the myriad perspectives of the issue through the lens of environmental
justice. Using relevant case law, oral arguments, Navy environmental policy documents,
and press interviews with Navy personnel attached to the OLF project, I draw a profile
of the Navy as a utilitarian environmental citizen. In contrast, video interviews
with members of the citizens’ group give voice and dimensionality to a population
with a deep sense of community and a demonstrated history of environmental stewardship—and
that defines itself as fiercely patriotic. Finally, I chart the trade-offs involved
in pursuit of a resolution.
Through my association with the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, findings
from this study will contribute to a “citizens’ EIS” being conducted by the citizens
group, simultaneous to the Navy’s EIS.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/1002Citation
Field, Joanna (2009). EXAMINING ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP IN GATES COUNTY, NC: THE COMPETING INTERESTS
OF SOCIAL CAPITAL AND MILITARY READINESS. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/1002.Collections
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