Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2009 The Political Ecology of Environmental Justice: Environmental Struggle and Injustice in the Yeongheung Island Coal Plant Controversy Hosuk Lee Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: ENVIRONMENTAL STRUGGLE AND INJUSTICE IN THE YEONGHEUNG ISLAND COAL PLANT CONTROVERSY By HOSUK LEE A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2009 The members of the committee approve the dissertation of Hosuk Lee defended on July 13, 2009 Dan Klooster Professor Co-Directing Dissertation Tony Stallins Professor Co-Directing Dissertation Ivonne Audirac Outside Committee Member Barney Warf Committee Member Jonathan Leib Committee Member Approved: Victor Mesev, Chair, Department of Geography David W. Rasmussen, Dean, College of Social Sciences The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................................. viii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER 1 ...............................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER 2 ...............................................................................................................................9 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ...................................................................................................9 DEFINITIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ................................................................................. 9 HISTORY AND PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ......................................................... 10 ENVIRONMENTALISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.............................................................. 12 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND ENERGY ................. 13 JUSTICE ISSUES IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ........................................................................... 17 1. Theories of Social Justice and Environmental Justice ................................................................... 17 2. Distributive Justice, Procedural Justice and Environmental Justice ................................................ 19 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 22 CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................................. 23 POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICAL ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ...... 23 POLITICAL ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ............................................................. 23 1. Political Economy .................................................................................................................. 23 2. Political Economy of Neoliberal Capitalism and Nature ............................................................... 24 3. The Political Economy of Environmental Justice in Geography ..................................................... 30 POLITICAL ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE .............................................................. 32 1. Theoretical Political Ecology and Practical Environmental Justice ................................................. 33 2. Justice in Political Ecology ...................................................................................................... 34 3. Scale in Political Ecology and Environmental Justice .................................................................. 36 4. The Social Construction of Nature and the Environment .............................................................. 42 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 43 CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................................. 44 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN KOREA ............................................................................. 44 A HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN KOREA ................................................................. 44 1. Short History of the Environmental Movement in Korea .............................................................. 44 iii 2. History of Environmental Justice in Korea ................................................................................. 48 DEBATES ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN KOREA............................................................. 51 1. Local Case Studies of Environmental Justice in Korea ................................................................. 51 2. Political Economy of Environmental Justice in Korea .................................................................. 55 3. Alternatives ........................................................................................................................... 56 DIFFERENCES IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND KOREA ..... 57 1. Different Subjects ................................................................................................................... 58 2. Different Victims .................................................................................................................... 59 3. Different Geographies ............................................................................................................. 60 COAL ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN KOREA ........................................................ 61 1. Global Trends of Coal Energy .................................................................................................. 63 2. National Trends in Coal Energy in Korea ................................................................................... 65 3. Coal Energy and Environmental Justice ..................................................................................... 67 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 68 CHAPTER 5 ............................................................................................................................. 70 RESEARCH METHODS .......................................................................................................... 70 THE QUALITATIVE APPROACH ..................................................................................................... 71 TEXT, DOCUMENT AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ........................................................................... 72 INTERVIEWS WITH ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND LOCAL RESIDENTS .......................................... 73 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF RESEARCH METHODS ......................................................... 74 CHAPTER 6 ............................................................................................................................. 78 CASE STUDY OF THE COAL PLANT ................................................................................... 78 DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA ............................................................................................. 79 1. Yeongheung Island.................................................................................................................. 79 2. Yeongheung Coal Plant ........................................................................................................... 82 3. The Cultural Landscape of Yeongheung Island ............................................................................ 83 THE FAILURE OF ENVIRONMENTALISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ................................. 87 1. The Beginning of the Coal Plant Plan (1990-1995) ...................................................................... 87 2. Environmental Conflicts (1995-1998) ........................................................................................ 89 3. Construction of Four Units and Extensions (1999-2007) .............................................................. 90 THE EXISTENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE ...................................................................... 94 1. Coal Dust .............................................................................................................................. 94 2. The Noise and Vibration of the Power Transmission Towers ......................................................... 96 3. Destruction of Tidelands .......................................................................................................... 98 POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ............................................................... 101 iv 1. Power Relations