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Re-Envisioning the Future: A Research Study about Increased Plastic Pollution from Desalination Plants and Environmental Education in Texas
Summary
This study examines the relationship between proposed desalination plants on the Texas Gulf Coast and potential increases in plastic pollution, drawing on interviews with environmental experts. The research was conducted for an indigenous communities organization to support environmental education and policy advocacy. It is a qualitative social science study rather than natural science research.
This study examines the relationship between proposed desalination plants and increased plastic pollution along the Texas Gulf Coast. It specifically focuses on their expected impact on communities in the area and was conducted for Society of Native Nations. The goal was to gather information about environmental ideologies and experiences from different environmental experts and scientists to educate community members and inform policy recommendations. The study relied on semi structured interviews and archival research to understand how environmental experts and scientists envision the future, how they interpret the impact of desalination plants as related to plastic pollution. Ideas that guided this research include decolonial methodologies, political ecology, Indigenous research agendas, environmental justice and knowledge, cultural hybridity, and the anthropology of the borderlands. This research provides actionable steps and recommendations to improve environmental education in Texas Gulf Coast communities on the U.S./Mexico border and to reduce plastic pollution in order to ensure that these communities have ample amounts of water supply without relying on desalination plants.