Brian F. O’Neill

Post-Doctoral Scholar

Brian F. O’Neill currently holds the position of postdoctoral scholar in the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, in addition to being an Ocean Nexus Fellow at the University of Washington. His research draws from engagements with the intellectual traditions of environmental sociology, critical policy studies, political ecology, and political economy. The underlying question motivating much of his work is: what is the nature of the recent, intense interest in “green” (broadly conceived) practices invoked in climate adaptation strategies? In problematizing existing adaptation efforts, he has explored issues of environmental injustices, public opinion, and social inequalities in policymaking at the nexus of the water and energy sectors (e.g., rivers and dams, desalination, fisheries, wind, and natural gas), using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Most recently, his work has focused on the intersections of climate and ocean policies as they illuminate significant trends in the future of labor, political economy, and competing conceptions of sustainability, equity, and justice. Brian’s activities are indicative of his commitment to scholarship that requires engagement across diverse publics, that is, with the academic community, but also those in power to make decisions about our future, and those who may not (yet) have a seat at the table. His research has been published in various venues, including Nature WaterWIREs WaterEnvironment and Planning E: Nature and SpaceCapitalism, Nature, SocialismThe Sociological QuarterlyHuman GeographyVisual Studies, the Journal of World-systems Research and more. He is an active member of numerous professional organizations, such as the American Sociological Association, American Association of Geographers, and the Brown Social Science Network, among others.

2023 Ph.D. Sociologie - l’Université Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle
2022 Ph.D. Sociology - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2018 M.A. Sociology - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2016 M.S. Water, Society, and Policy - University of Arizona
2014 B.A. Environmental Studies - Washington & Jefferson College

Environmental Justice; Social Fields of Public Policy; Public Opinion; Climate Adaptation Infrastructure; Coastal and Ocean Politics; Ethnography

Books

Joan Cortinas, Brian F. O’Neill, Eliza Benites-Gambirazio, and Franck Poupeau. 2023. Le Champ des Politiques Hydriques. Paris, FR: Éditions du Croquant. ISBN: 9782365123297.

Journal Articles

O’Neill, Brian F. and Joe Williams. 2023. “Developments in desalination need a social sciences perspective.” Nature Water. DOI: 10.1038/s44221-023-00161-x

O’Neill, Brian F. 2023. “Water for Whom? Desalination and the Cooptation of the Environmental Justice Frame in Southern California.” Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space. Volume 6, Issue 2: 1366-1390. DOI 10.1177/25148486221102377.

O’Neill, Brian F. and Anne-Lise Boyer. 2023. “‘Locking in’ Desalination in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands: Path Dependency, Techno-Optimism and Climate Adaptation.” Water Alternatives. Volume 16, Issue 2: 480-508 Available online at: https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol16/v16issue2/705-a16-2-8/file.

O’Neill, Brian F. 2023. “Desalination as a New Frontier of Environmental Justice Struggle: A Dialogue with Oscar Rodriguez and Andrea León-Grossmann.” Capitalism, Nature, Socialism. Volume 34, Issue 1: 107-128: DOI: 10.1080/10455752.2022.2126130.

O’Neill, Brian F. and Matthew Jerome Schneider. 2023. “Demystifying the Global ‘Just Transition’ – On Power Struggles and Electric Mountains. Human GeographyVolume 15, Issue 3: 311-316.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/19427786221098700.

O’Neill, Brian F. and Matthew Jerome Schneider. 2021. “A Public Health Frame for Fracking? Predicting Public Support for Hydraulic Fracturing.” The Sociological Quarterly. Volume 62, Issue 3: 439-463. DOI 10.1080/00380253.

O’Neill, Brian F.  2020. “The World-Ecology of Desalination: From Cold-War Positioning to Financialization in the Capitalocene.” Journal of World-Systems Research. Volume 26, Issue 2: 318-349. DOI 10.5195/JWSR.2020.987

Book Chapters

Joan Cortinas, O’Neill, Brian F., and Franck Poupeau. 2023. Le Champ des Politiques Hydriques dans l’Ouest Étasunien: Éléments d’Interprétation des Instruments d’Action. Chapter 3 in “Les structures sociales de l’action publique. Analyser les politiques publiques   avec la sociologie des champs.” Edited by Vincent Dubois. Paris, FR: Éditions du Croquant. ISBN: 9782365123648.

Boyer, Anne-Lise and Brian F. O’Neill. 2022. “Water Conservation in Arizona Desert Cities: A Socioecological Fix to the Oasis Lifestyle?” In Chloé Nicolas-Artero, Sébastien Velut, Graciela Schneier-Madanes, Franck Poupeau, and Carine Chavarochette (ed.): Luttes pour l’Eau dans les Amériques. Mésusages, Arrangements et Changements Sociaux. Chapter 11, pg. 254-274. April 2022. Éditions de l’HEAL Collection n°2. Aubervilliers, France. ISBN 978-2-37154-145-0

Public-Facing Work

O’Neill, Brian F. 2022. “Desalination and the Political (Blue) Economy of Climate Adaptation.” EnviroSociety, March 7, 2022.

O’Neill, Brian F. and Matthew Jerome Schneider. 2021. “Fracking, Public Health, and Biden’s Green New Deal.” Special Feature in The Society Pages, July 21, 2021.