One Global Movement, Many Local Voices: Discourse(s) of the Global Anti-Fracking Movement

TitleOne Global Movement, Many Local Voices: Discourse(s) of the Global Anti-Fracking Movement
Publication TypeBook Chapter
AuthorsSteger, T., and Milos Milicevic
EditorsLeonard, Liam, and Sya Buryn Kedzior
Book TitleOccupy the Earth: Global Environmental Movements (Advances in Sustainability and Environmental Justice
Year2014
Pages1-35
PublisherEmerald Group Publishing Limited
Volume15
LanguageEnglish
ISBN Number978-1-78350-697-2
DOI10.1108/S2051-503020140000015002
Publisher linkhttp://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/S2051-503020140000015002
Abstract

In this chapter, we “occupy the earth” with an overview of the anti-fracking discourse(s) of diverse local initiatives converging as a global movement opposed to fracking. By mapping the discourse(s) of the anti-fracking movement, the articulation of the problems and solutions associated with fracking raise questions not only about the environment but draw attention to a crisis of democracy and the critical need for social and environmental justice. With the help of a multiple theoretical framework we draw on insights about environmental movements and their democratizing potential; conceptualizations about power and (counter) discourse; and depictions of the environmental justice movements in the United States. Toward this end, we analyze the framing of the anti-fracking movement: the many local voices engaging in political struggles to sustain their communities, places and ways of life, and the global movements’ forum for collective solidarity, recognition, and civic action. Shedding light on the multiple frames employed by movement members, we discuss the implications and potential embodied in this widening debate.

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