My research addresses conflicts and collaboration in environmental policy, with a particular emphasis on environmental justice in rural communities. My most recent work in California has evaluated California’s Community Air Protection policy (AB 617). I have also conducted research on water justice in California’s Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities, environmental justice planning in California cities and counties (under Senate Bill 1000), as well as earlier work on pesticide policy, land use/ transportation/housing policy, and the development of indices of cumulative environmental burdens. Most of my work involves a community-engaged research approach, with non-profit and policy organizations as full partners in the development, implementation, dissemination, and application of the research. I believe that this contributes to its relevance, rigor, and reach.
I have worked in Nepal starting 35 years ago, teaching an inter-generational oral history programs with the Gurung ethnic group in affiliation with the Intercultural Oral History Project and the Annapurna Conservation Area Project and for the past 10 years co-teaching a binational learning exchange, Nepal: Community, Technology, and Sustainability with Nancy Erbstein and Hands On Institute. My recent co-edited book (with Jaganath Adhikari and Tom Robertson) is Environmental Justice in Nepal: Origins, Struggles and Prospects (Routledge).
Land of Risk/ Land of Opportunity