Environmental contamination is a fundamental determinant of health and well-being, and when the e... more Environmental contamination is a fundamental determinant of health and well-being, and when the environment is compromised, vulnerabilities are generated. The complex challenges associated with environmental health and food security are influenced by current and emerging political, social, economic, and environmental contexts. To solve these “wicked” dilemmas, disparate public health surveillance efforts are conducted by local, state, and federal agencies. More recently, citizen/community science (CS) monitoring efforts are providing site-specific data. One of the biggest challenges in using these government datasets, let alone incorporating CS data, for a holistic assessment of environmental exposure is data management and interoperability. To facilitate a more holistic perspective and approach to solution generation, we have developed a method to provide a common data model that will allow environmental health researchers working at different scales and research domains to exchang...
The forced extraction of raw materials and life forms from the Earth’s biosphere sustains human f... more The forced extraction of raw materials and life forms from the Earth’s biosphere sustains human feats of modernity. From precious metals to fossil fuels, from copper to uranium, and the rare earth minerals essential to modern infrastructure and electronics, the history of mining is deeply rooted in the unfolding sociopolitical climate of the Sonoran Desert. By transforming ore into commodities, corporate mining throughout the Sonoran Desert has been a source of immense wealth for some, but has also led to waste, environmental contamination, illness and premature death in rural, low-income, predominantly communities of color. Years of Life Lost (before they can ossify) is a multimedia art installation that visualizes this toxic aftermath through slag rock, a mining byproduct left behind in massive mounds of waste, and glass bones that both represent the years of life lost by people living near waste due to the harmful chemicals that enter their body without their consent. The promise of industrialization to modernize and improve our lives is contrasted with the reality of the underlying intentions of corporate operations that produce and prioritize value in monetary form while devaluing and harming ecosystems necessary for life and the environmental health of local communities. The state’s supporting role is revealed through a mathematical calculation used in policy decision-making that figures the years of life lost in relation to human productivity and profit. Within the exhibition, the viewer is witness to the political and economic forces that are enmeshed in constellations of flesh, tissue, rock, bone, soil, and precious moments of life that were never lived
Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, 2021
In this urgent decade when American democracy faces the challenge of decarbonizing the U.S. elect... more In this urgent decade when American democracy faces the challenge of decarbonizing the U.S. electric grid and assuring that the economic benefits of our energy transition are equitably shared, many solar energy researchers and activists are searching for new ways to partner with the civic sector. Instead of treating energy users as passive customers, experts understand the importance of engaging community as active decision-makers, beneficiaries, and communicators for a just energy transition. Distributed solar technology offers more democratic potential than small savings on individuals’ electric bills. Energy experts working on the Solar CommonsÔ community solar model at the University of Minnesota are piloting demonstration projects with community partners in Arizona and Minnesota. These solar commons aggregate savings through power purchase agreements that create 25-year peer-governed revenue streams to support mutual aid and reparative justice work in neighborhoods. This articl...
Environmental contamination is a fundamental determinant of health and well-being, and when the e... more Environmental contamination is a fundamental determinant of health and well-being, and when the environment is compromised, vulnerabilities are generated. The complex challenges associated with environmental health and food security are influenced by current and emerging political, social, economic, and environmental contexts. To solve these “wicked” dilemmas, disparate public health surveillance efforts are conducted by local, state, and federal agencies. More recently, citizen/community science (CS) monitoring efforts are providing site-specific data. One of the biggest challenges in using these government datasets, let alone incorporating CS data, for a holistic assessment of environmental exposure is data management and interoperability. To facilitate a more holistic perspective and approach to solution generation, we have developed a method to provide a common data model that will allow environmental health researchers working at different scales and research domains to exchang...
The forced extraction of raw materials and life forms from the Earth’s biosphere sustains human f... more The forced extraction of raw materials and life forms from the Earth’s biosphere sustains human feats of modernity. From precious metals to fossil fuels, from copper to uranium, and the rare earth minerals essential to modern infrastructure and electronics, the history of mining is deeply rooted in the unfolding sociopolitical climate of the Sonoran Desert. By transforming ore into commodities, corporate mining throughout the Sonoran Desert has been a source of immense wealth for some, but has also led to waste, environmental contamination, illness and premature death in rural, low-income, predominantly communities of color. Years of Life Lost (before they can ossify) is a multimedia art installation that visualizes this toxic aftermath through slag rock, a mining byproduct left behind in massive mounds of waste, and glass bones that both represent the years of life lost by people living near waste due to the harmful chemicals that enter their body without their consent. The promise of industrialization to modernize and improve our lives is contrasted with the reality of the underlying intentions of corporate operations that produce and prioritize value in monetary form while devaluing and harming ecosystems necessary for life and the environmental health of local communities. The state’s supporting role is revealed through a mathematical calculation used in policy decision-making that figures the years of life lost in relation to human productivity and profit. Within the exhibition, the viewer is witness to the political and economic forces that are enmeshed in constellations of flesh, tissue, rock, bone, soil, and precious moments of life that were never lived
Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, 2021
In this urgent decade when American democracy faces the challenge of decarbonizing the U.S. elect... more In this urgent decade when American democracy faces the challenge of decarbonizing the U.S. electric grid and assuring that the economic benefits of our energy transition are equitably shared, many solar energy researchers and activists are searching for new ways to partner with the civic sector. Instead of treating energy users as passive customers, experts understand the importance of engaging community as active decision-makers, beneficiaries, and communicators for a just energy transition. Distributed solar technology offers more democratic potential than small savings on individuals’ electric bills. Energy experts working on the Solar CommonsÔ community solar model at the University of Minnesota are piloting demonstration projects with community partners in Arizona and Minnesota. These solar commons aggregate savings through power purchase agreements that create 25-year peer-governed revenue streams to support mutual aid and reparative justice work in neighborhoods. This articl...
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Papers by Dorsey Kaufmann