Promising Data for Public Empowerment

The scientific study of environmental pollution has undergone two major shifts in the recent decades. On one hand, local volunteer groups are increasingly involved in gathering evidence of pollution in their communities. By participating in knowledge production, these “citizen science” groups can gain legitimacy amongst scientific experts, and open doors to more democratic decision-making with regulators. On the other hand, environmental scientists are using progressively more sophisticated “environmental information systems” (EISs) to analyze complex data representing natural and built environments. --- My research examines tensions between the drive toward using bigger and more complex environmental information to support local needs for knowledge about polluting industries. These tensions are examined in a study of the volunteer water monitoring groups responding to pollution threats from natural gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale regions of New York and Pennsylvania. This study is funded by the National Science Foundation and the RPI Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) Fellowship. --- In the literature on Big Data systems, scholars argue that by using new interpretive technologies, the very definition of relevant knowledge is changing. Demands for more knowledge are changing how meaning and importance is attached to data at different scales (Bollier, 2010; Boyd & Crawford, 2011). In STS literature on citizen science and environmental justice, scholars argue that grassroots environmental movements alter the balance of power between local communities, regulators, and expert scientists by participating in the knowledge production cycle (Corburn, 2005; Ottinger & Cohen, 2011). This shift can open doors to more democratic decision making and impact how regulatory agencies respond to scientific controversies (Brown, 2007; Frickel & Moore, 2006). --- However, little research has been done on the relationship between these two social changes. While citizens seek local empowerment through participatory environmental science, they also are beginning to amplify the importance of complex data systems in making scientific knowledge claims. Environmental information systems (EIS) used by citizen science groups are changing how empowerment is defined and enacted. --- My research seeks explanations for these developments through an ongoing in-depth ethnographic study of volunteer water monitoring groups and capacity building organizations in the Marcellus Shale that play an important role in developing volunteer monitoring protocols, aggregating data, and determining how data will be used. Citizen science groups in these regions are generating extensive amounts of data for use in online databases and GIS systems. They hope these systems will lend greater legitimacy to their science, but the STS literature suggests that by focusing on scientific data alone, these groups may limit their ability to engage scientific issues. Other considerations must be made for how data can remain useful to communities participating in the process, as well as how data will be interpreted in such a way that it accurately reflects the concerns of a heterogeneous field of stakeholders. --- The study addresses three major questions: What explains the diversity of monitoring practices, data aggregating strategies, and data sharing practices in use by capacity building organizations? Despite having a common focus on water quality impacts from shale gas development, there are significant differences in monitoring practices. What explains the difficulties the water monitoring community has faced in creating a standard, shared, water quality database? Although there is a common interest in combining data generated by efforts to monitor local watersheds, creating a common database has been contentious. How do different data management strategies affect the capacity of impacted communities to define and control environmental monitoring practices and data interpretation? Emerging data aggregation and sharing systems have varying degrees of flexibility and adaptability to local needs. These differences may determine the extent to which these systems will remain useful for local communties. --- This research has potential to inform the technical practices and information management strategies of civil society groups dealing with a range of environmental justice issues in the Marcellus Shale and elsewhere. It will make valuable contributions to the volunteer water monitoring community in particular by offering knowledge back to organizations and volunteer groups who participate in the study. In its completed stage, the research will be useful for illustrating the mechanisms by which citizen science alliances might produce high-quality data in ways that continue to empower local communities. This study will also be useful to regulators and research scientists who are seeking effective ways to interface with information systems that are coming online to support citizen science groups. --- More information available at: www.kirkjalbert.com