Analyze

Coverage of activism in university newspaper

zoefriese
Annotation of
In response to

I published this news article about a hunger strike against Formosa Plastics that occurred in Texas this fall. Despite the extremity of a 30-day hunger strike, the protesting tactic has not gained attention from national media outlets. At the time I published this article, two small environmental organizations had announced the beginning of the strike, but none continued to cover the event in the unfolding weeks. While activists are driven to take on dangerous protest tactics, little communication of these tactics has carried across mass media.

The article itself introduces Formosa Plastics through its reputation as a "serial offender" of environmental and workplace safety regulations. I list several statistics on legal fines that Formosa Plastics has accumulated overtime, using these quantities to demonstrate the scale of their harm to environmental and human health. An important limitation of this storytelling strategy, however, is that many of Formosa Plastics' actions go undocumented, and even when documented, do not lead to legal consequences. Furthermore, we should still strive to acknowledge the harms committed by Formosa Plastics that are technically within legal limits.

What other organizations does this organization interact and collaborate with?

bmvuong
Annotation of
In response to

EDGI is partnered with a few universities research units/programs, Union of Concerned Scientists, and other research labs and climate organizations.

What data or reports has this organization produced or or used to support their approach to environmental, health and disaster g

bmvuong
Annotation of
In response to

  1. EDGI has several projects such as “A People’s EPA”, “Data Together”, and “Federal Environmental Web Tracker”

  2. “Federal Environmental Web Tracker”: a public dataset to changes of federal environmental websites under the Trump administration and beyond. This one especially peaked my interest because it is fairly simple to navigate and there is also a Google Sheets version that is downloadable I believe. 

What funding enables this organization's work and likely shapes their way of thinking about community engagement, equity and env

bmvuong
Annotation of
In response to

EDGI obtains its funding from several 501 c 3 organizations but primarily relies on volunteer work. They are also offered compensation and reimbursement for some of their work or operations. EDGI is fiscally sponsored by Multiplier, a 501 c 3 organization that supports projects that have a planet-saving impact.

What events or data seem to have motivated this organization’s way of addressing community engagement, equity and environmental

bmvuong
Annotation of
In response to

EDGI formed in November 2016 to document and analyze changes to environmental governance that would transpire under the Trump Administration. EDGI subsequently became the preeminent 'watchdog group' for material on federal environmental data issues on government websites and a national leader in highlighting President Trump’s impacts such as declines in EPA enforcement.

What has his organization done – through research, legislation, or programming, for example-- that illustrates how they approa

bmvuong
Annotation of
In response to

EDGI has created many projects that demonstrate tracking of environmental governance changes,  specifically in environmental data infrastructure. It mainly deals with federal datasets and does not have much information on its website about engaging smaller communities. 

Who works in this organization and what is the organizational structure? What sub-units of the organization are relevant to env

bmvuong
Annotation of
In response to

  1. There are 50+ members of this organization from academic institutions, non-profit and grassroots organizations, and professionals from a broad spectrum of work and life backgrounds.

  2. Sub-units of this organization include one for environmental data justice.

  3. There are five major programs: 1) investigating and analyzing the inner workings of federal environmental policy, through interviewing of agency staff, as well as data and documentary collection and analysis, 2) monitoring changes to, and exploring standards for, web-based information about the environment, energy, and climate provided by the federal government, 3) developing new ways of making federal environmental data more accessible to the public, 4) imagining, conceptualizing, and moving toward Environmental Data Justice, and 5) prototyping new organizational structures and practices for distributed, collective, effective work rooted in justice. 

What is the mission and status (government, non-profit, academic) of this organization?

bmvuong
Annotation of
In response to

"The Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) documents, analyzes, and advocates for the federal provision of environmental data and governance, from policies and institutions, to public access to information, to environmental decision-making. They seek to improve environmental information stewardship, promote environmental democracy, health, and justice, and to better adapt these all to the digital age." (Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, About section)