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Valuing water: a normative analysis of prior appropriation

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dc.contributor.authorElbot, Morgan Bradfield, author
dc.contributor.authorRollin, Bernard, advisor
dc.contributor.authorRollin, Bernard, committee member
dc.contributor.authorMcShane, Katie, committee member
dc.contributor.authorCallahan, Gerald, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2007-01-03T06:37:52Z
dc.date.available2007-01-03T06:37:52Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractThis thesis aims to provide a normative evaluation of the Western U.S. water law of prior appropriation through a contextual analysis of water value pluralism. The first chapter begins with a preliminary account of the major justificatory arguments made in defense of prior appropriation, followed by two critiques that undermine some proposed advantages of the water policy. The purpose of this analysis is to elucidate the normative claims that underlie many of the arguments within this debate but which fail to be made explicit. It becomes clear that these normative claims assume a utilitarian criterion for resource distribution, according to which water is primarily viewed as an economic good with a monetary value. The second chapter challenges the legitimacy of this assumption by introducing non-monetary water values, with attention to the particular social and cultural contexts in which they emerge. Through a review of four economic proxies, these non-monetary water values are shown to be incommensurable with monetary valuations. Finally, the third chapter offers a theoretical framework for the incorporation of non-monetary water values into resource distribution decisions. From this normative analysis, it is concluded that a necessary condition for achieving just resource distribution decisions is for prior appropriation to incorporate value pluralism by recognizing the legitimacy of non-monetary water values.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierElbot_colostate_0053N_12528.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10217/83894
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.subjectwater values
dc.subjectcontextualism
dc.subjectincommensurability
dc.subjectNative American
dc.subjectprior appropriation
dc.subjectvalue pluralism
dc.titleValuing water: a normative analysis of prior appropriation
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplinePhilosophy
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (M.A.)

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