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Sludge, Politics, Media and America: The Perception of Waste

Stoll, Michael Walter
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1271257726

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Arts, University of Toledo, Geography.
The purpose of this research is to examine the perception of biosolids, and the use of biosolids within the United States, through utilization of media articles. As a result of the United States’ wastewater treatment system, significant amounts of waste are disposed on a daily basis across the country. Local and regional newspapers often report both the biosolid benefits and nuisances along with related policy changes and local future goals. The local media can reflect the perception of biosolids within a spatial context. This research notes that while biosolids are dealt with in every urban area across the United States, only specific areas of the country focus on and outline issues pertaining to biosolids. Local media publications often report the impacts of biosolids disposal. This research identifies sources of information utilized within biosolid articles and used the articles to project the perception of waste spatially. The information used in this research was gathered utilizing the Lexis Nexis® Academic media research utility. Lexis Nexis records over 4000 newspapers as they are published. Relevant articles were categorized, and coded for sources of information within a database. The general reflection of the article by a reader was also categorized. The study projects each article’s publication location and setting location. Hotspots of biosolid related articles identify several major issues within specific spatial locations. The hotspot locations span various urban areas across the United States, from Seattle, Washington to Roanoke, Virginia. The issues that spur the development of these hotspots varies widely, topics include, among many others, sludge power plants, mine reclamation, biosolids contaminating rivers and contaminated biosolids being applied to playground areas including baseball diamonds.
Kevin Czajkowski, PhD (Committee Chair)
Patrick Lawrence, PhD (Committee Member)
David Nemeth, PhD (Committee Member)
91 p.
Geography
Biosolids; media perception; sources of biosolid information; spatial representation of media articles

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Stoll, M. W. (2010). Sludge, Politics, Media and America: The Perception of Waste [Master's thesis, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1271257726

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Stoll, Michael. Sludge, Politics, Media and America: The Perception of Waste. 2010. University of Toledo, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1271257726.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Stoll, Michael. "Sludge, Politics, Media and America: The Perception of Waste." Master's thesis, University of Toledo, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1271257726

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Toledo and OhioLINK.