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Browsing by Author "Malin, Stephanie, advisor"

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    COVID-19, policymaking, and the production of harm in the meatpacking sector
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Luxton, India M., author; Malin, Stephanie, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Cross, Jennifer E., committee member; Sbicca, Joshua, committee member; Ipsen, Annabel, committee member; Hausermann, Heidi, committee member
    In March 2020, the United States was forced to respond to the impending threat of COVID-19. Businesses, schools, and many of society's institutions shuttered in hopes of preventing mass transmission. And yet, meatpacking plants remained open. By September 2021, over 59,000 meatpacking workers tested positive for COVID-19 and close to 300 workers had died from the virus (Douglas 2021). In this dissertation, I document the socio-political, structural, and institutional roots of high rates of COVID-19 transmission among meatpacking workers—and the impacts of firm decisions and federal, state, and local governance structures on workers. I utilize literature pertaining to industrialized animal agriculture, political economy, green criminology, and racial capitalism to analyze the intersections among policymaking and production of harm within the meatpacking sector. Drawing on 39 in-depth interviews, critical policy ethnography, and content analysis, I explore the impacts of labor and food policies on the safety and wellbeing of meatpacking workers prior to and during COVID-19. Through an extended multiscalar case study of the JBS plant in Greeley, Colorado, I trace the involvement of agribusiness actors in federal, state, and local level policymaking during COVID-19. I examine how legacies of racialized labor exploitation have enabled firms to uphold the treadmill of meat production and perpetrate hazardous working conditions—conditions further upheld through corporate self-regulation, rather than federal intervention. I document how regulatory power of the federal agencies tasked with protecting worker and public health, including the CDC and OSHA, has been greatly diminished in recent years due to declined funding, staff capacity, and a neoliberal political structure that favors corporate self-responsibility over state enforcement. I argue that a system of harm has been codified into the regulatory system; harm that emerges directly from policymaking and the outcomes of a neoliberal capitalist political-economic system. Throughout this dissertation, I analyze how meatpacking workers' vulnerabilities during COVID-19 were amplified by issues of procedural injustice and historical legacies of racial inequality and exploitation. I conclude with a discussion of theoretical and policy implications and offer suggestions for future research
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    Cut off in chaos: communication and life-saving action amid rising rural water during the 2013 Colorado Floods
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Pohl, Jason, author; Malin, Stephanie, advisor; Peek, Lori, committee member; Trumbo, Craig, committee member
    During a few days in mid-September 2013, more than a foot of rain fell in the mountains of northern Colorado, transforming streams into torrents and spurring a massive emergency response effort. High water demolished homes, ate away chunks of main highways, and stranded people across the state. Glen Haven, located in rural Larimer County, was among the hardest hit communities (AAR 2015). Cut off and eventually without electricity or telephone access, the community's volunteer fire department served as the primary rescue agency during the disaster and for weeks after, from organizing the initial shelter-in-place order by telephone to assisting in the evacuation effort. Firefighters pulled victims from the water, worked with county, state, and federal authorities to facilitate helicopter evacuations, and provided medical treatment and supplies to many who called Glen Haven their part-time or year-round home. By the time murky waters receded, the 2013 Colorado Floods claimed ten lives, forced more than 18,000 people from their homes, destroyed 1,882 structures, and cost taxpayers more than $4 billion, ranking it among the most devastating natural disasters in Colorado history (AAR 2015; FEMA 2015; Aguilar and Bunch 2015). While officials later lauded the multipronged communication and evacuation efforts that likely saved lives, little research has been conducted to determine how people in the most remote areas of the state, such as Glen Haven, actually learned of the emergency's severity and immediacy. By utilizing interviews and focus groups, this thesis builds on analyses of disaster evacuees' decision-making and communicative processes. Specifically, this thesis explores how Glen Haven residents relied on community-based social ties, lived experiences, and other warnings to learn of the need to take life-saving measures to survive the 2013 Colorado Floods. Findings bolster understandings of how residents make decisions to act in times of disaster. Many residents relied on an automated 911 telephone call to first learn about the serious dangers being posed by the flooding, and the Glen Haven Volunteer Fire Department proved to be instrumental in both first communicating the situation's urgency and facilitating a safe evacuation. Meanwhile, media messages about the event went generally unheard in the community, which was left to draw on its own network of social ties, yet news reports remained essential outside the immediately affected area. Building on these findings, I conclude this thesis with a series of suggestions related to the usage of 911 warning systems, the importance of volunteer first responders, and considerations required among media communicators. Results can then be applied to areas prone to floods, wildfires, hurricanes, or other disasters near and far.
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    Multiscalar power, conflict and procedural justice in regulating Colorado's unconventional oil and gas development
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Ryder, Stacia, author; Malin, Stephanie, advisor; Betsill, Michele, committee member; Mao, KuoRay, committee member; Peek, Lori, committee member
    To view the abstract, please see the full text of the document.
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    Rocky Flats: a case study of nuclear contamination, knowledge, and environmental justice
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Luxton, India M., author; Malin, Stephanie, advisor; Hall, Peter, committee member; Stevis, Dimitris, committee member
    This thesis seeks to examine the environmental and public health experiences of individuals who live(d) near the Rocky Flats Nuclear Facility in Arvada, Colorado during and after its operation. The data presented for this thesis has been collected as part of MSU-CSU's Rocky Flats Health Study to collect qualitative interview data from individuals who suffer from rare cancers, chronic illnesses, or have had a family member who has passed due to these health outcomes. Currently, there are few health studies related to Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant, and those that do exist are highly contested (Iversen 2012). In addition to archival analysis of fifteen interviews, oral histories were conducted with fifteen individuals. Oral histories illustrate community perceptions of Rocky Flats, as well as the impact of living in close proximity has had on their health and quality of life. In my findings, I illustrate the political, institutional, and interpersonal aspects of accessing information regarding environmental contamination and subsequent health risks. Findings illustrate that access to information both during and after the facility's operation was severely constrained by structural barriers, conflicting reports of safety, and a culture of secrecy surrounding the site. Additionally, I examine the contested nature of participants' illnesses as well as their notions of justice. Understanding the lived, psycho-social experiences of people with contested illness is critical to connecting questions of justice and environmental contamination.
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    The nexus of farming & energy: navigating social tensions at the intersection of sustainable agriculture and unconventional O&G drilling
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Sprague, Cherilyn, author; Malin, Stephanie, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Thilmany, Dawn, committee member
    The purpose of this research was to examine how unconventional O&G development is interacting with small-scale sustainable and organic agriculture in Northern Colorado, particularly Boulder, Weld, and Larimer counties. The issues explored are impacts which farmers face as a result of development, the political economic context that small-scale farmers operate under, and how these interactions with O&G development may result in voluntary or forced shifts in identity. By examining these issues, I show how the institution of split estate structures farmer’s interactions with O&G development because it dictates how much control they enjoy and how they are able to participate in procedural equity. I hope this research shows the unique challenges that sustainable and organic farmers face when dealing with O&G development, while also illustrating that it is the institution of split estate that impacts these challenges the most.
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    We couldn't even pass a resolution strongly condemning something': decision-making and procedural injustice at Rocky Flats
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Milnes, Travis, author; Malin, Stephanie, advisor; Mahoney, Pat, committee member; Trumbo, Craig, committee member
    Over the course of the Rocky Flat's Nuclear Plant's operation, multiple incidents led to radioactive contamination in the surrounding environment. In 1996, state agencies agreed on a $7.3 billion remediation of the site, which was completed in 2005. On September 15, 2018, the periphery of the site was opened to the public as a Wildlife Refuge, in the center remains a space overseen by the Department of Energy. Despite remediation efforts, public opposition for both the Wildlife Refuge and the proposed roadway construction adjacent to the site remains due to concern with increased health risk for local communities. Given the history of contamination and community health response, Rocky Flats is an example of warranted environmental and procedural justice concerns. Literature indicates that procedural justice and environmental justice requires both access to information and public participation in decision-making. To examine these two elements at Rocky Flats, fifteen face-to-face interviews, participant observation of public meetings, and archival analysis was conducted. Findings indicate that Rocky Flats remains a site of environmental and procedural injustice due to the requirement of technical knowledge for public deliberation, and development of the Wildlife Refuge and the roadway despite clear public opposition. This thesis aims to contribute to environmental and procedural justice literature by examining public opposition in a post-remedial setting.