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Petersen, Janee Accepted Thesis 4-16-20 Sp 20.pdf (2.16 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Power, Environmental Justice, and Artful Resistance
Author Info
Petersen, Janee
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1587729736967345
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2020, Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, Geography (Arts and Sciences).
Abstract
Recent technological advances and advantageous political circumstances have prompted a heightened wave of natural gas extraction and transportation infrastructure across the Eastern United States. In 2014, Dominion Energy announced a new energy project, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). The pipeline will transport `fracked' natural gas from Ohio and Pennsylvania across Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. The ACP will pass through two national forests, private property, a popular ski resort, a yoga community, and an African American community in rural Buckingham County, Virginia, among others. Although construction of the ACP is begun, Dominion Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and other state officials face strong opposition from grassroots organizations. I explore this resistance by asking what fears and concerns opponents have about the pipeline’s construction and analyze how these fears shape the type of mobilization occurring against the project. I use an environmental justice framework with an emphasis on procedural power to analyze how corporations disrupt communities and sensitive ecological areas along ACP's path, despite strong opposition from grassroots organizations. Semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and document analysis of public documents, news sources, YouTube videos, and Facebook posts were conducted. I argue that this project ignited a wide variety of concerns among opponents ranging from environmental degradation to the unjust use of eminent domain by a private company. Perhaps most notable is the location of the Buckingham compressor station near an African American community, which constitutes a distributive environmental injustice. These concerns sparked resistance including public protests, disruptions during official meetings, and "art-activism".
Committee
Harold Perkins , Dr. (Advisor)
Risa Whitson , Dr. (Committee Member)
Geoffrey Buckley , Dr. (Committee Member)
Pages
179 p.
Subject Headings
Environmental Justice
;
Geography
Keywords
Environmental justice
;
power
;
extractive industry
;
resistance
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Refworks
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Citations
Petersen, J. (2020).
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Power, Environmental Justice, and Artful Resistance
[Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1587729736967345
APA Style (7th edition)
Petersen, Janee.
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Power, Environmental Justice, and Artful Resistance.
2020. Ohio University, Master's thesis.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1587729736967345.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Petersen, Janee. "The Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Power, Environmental Justice, and Artful Resistance." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1587729736967345
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
ohiou1587729736967345
Download Count:
291
Copyright Info
© 2020, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.