1,423 research outputs found

    Deep Ecology And The Antarctic Marine Living Resources: Lessons For Other Regimes

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    Extremely cold temperatures and severe climatic conditions make Antarctica the most lifeless continent in the world. Because the majority of its mainland is ice-covered, Antarctica is unable to support most forms of plant and animal life. The animal life that is able to survive is primarily marine dependent, living in the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is the habitat for a unique and diverse collection of marine living resources. Interestingly, this marine life, because of the small number of species, comprises one of the simplest ecosystems in the world. The existence of a peculiarly short food chain focuses much of the attention on one particular species-krill. Those marine animals which do not rely directly on krill as their main food source feed animals, instead on other which in turn feed directly on krill. Consequently, a serious depletion of krill in the Antarctic could have a potentially devastating effect on the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem. This short food chain and the resulting strong interdependence among species have made it necessary to implement strict conservation measures in the Antarctic. Surprisingly, it is only recently that the need for conservation measures in the Antarctic has been recognized and acted upon. When the Antarctic Treaty, the first in a series of agreements that comprise the Antarctic Treaty System, was negotiated in the late 1950s, conservation was not considered to be one of the more important issues. Conserving the environment did not become a primary issue in the Antarctic until the Antarctic Treaty parties drafted the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (Agreed Measures), at the Third Consultative Meeting of the Antarctic Treaty Parties in 1964. The Agreed Measures were the first in a series of agreements which offer greater protection to the Antarctic environment. The move toward ecosystem awareness is a significant departure from previous human attitudes toward nature. More specifically, humans have historically viewed nature as existing purely for their own purposes and consumption. Natural resource management existed as a means to maximize long-term as well as short-term commercial benefits. However, the development of protective agreements for Antarctic marine living resources signals a corresponding retreat from this human-centered attitude. A new attitude has developed which acknowledges nature as having intrinsic value distinct from anything associated with humans or human benefits. This still-developing attitude has been classified as deep ecology. This Article reviews the development of the deep ecology approach, from its origins to its implementation, throughout the Antarctic Treaty System. Section II of this Article provides the necessary background information about deep ecology theory. Section III discusses and analyzes the Antarctic Treaty System. This section will also outline the initial, limited application of deep ecology in the Antarctic Treaty and the growth of the deep ecology approach through the System\u27s subsequent Treaties. The Article concludes that the Antarctic Treaty System has evolved from a regulatory system concerned with protecting and developing the fishing industries, to a more preservation-oriented system which protects all species as part of the global ecosystem

    Deep Ecology And The Antarctic Marine Living Resources: Lessons For Other Regimes

    Get PDF
    Extremely cold temperatures and severe climatic conditions make Antarctica the most lifeless continent in the world. Because the majority of its mainland is ice-covered, Antarctica is unable to support most forms of plant and animal life. The animal life that is able to survive is primarily marine dependent, living in the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is the habitat for a unique and diverse collection of marine living resources. Interestingly, this marine life, because of the small number of species, comprises one of the simplest ecosystems in the world. The existence of a peculiarly short food chain focuses much of the attention on one particular species-krill. Those marine animals which do not rely directly on krill as their main food source feed animals, instead on other which in turn feed directly on krill. Consequently, a serious depletion of krill in the Antarctic could have a potentially devastating effect on the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem. This short food chain and the resulting strong interdependence among species have made it necessary to implement strict conservation measures in the Antarctic. Surprisingly, it is only recently that the need for conservation measures in the Antarctic has been recognized and acted upon. When the Antarctic Treaty, the first in a series of agreements that comprise the Antarctic Treaty System, was negotiated in the late 1950s, conservation was not considered to be one of the more important issues. Conserving the environment did not become a primary issue in the Antarctic until the Antarctic Treaty parties drafted the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (Agreed Measures), at the Third Consultative Meeting of the Antarctic Treaty Parties in 1964. The Agreed Measures were the first in a series of agreements which offer greater protection to the Antarctic environment. The move toward ecosystem awareness is a significant departure from previous human attitudes toward nature. More specifically, humans have historically viewed nature as existing purely for their own purposes and consumption. Natural resource management existed as a means to maximize long-term as well as short-term commercial benefits. However, the development of protective agreements for Antarctic marine living resources signals a corresponding retreat from this human-centered attitude. A new attitude has developed which acknowledges nature as having intrinsic value distinct from anything associated with humans or human benefits. This still-developing attitude has been classified as deep ecology. This Article reviews the development of the deep ecology approach, from its origins to its implementation, throughout the Antarctic Treaty System. Section II of this Article provides the necessary background information about deep ecology theory. Section III discusses and analyzes the Antarctic Treaty System. This section will also outline the initial, limited application of deep ecology in the Antarctic Treaty and the growth of the deep ecology approach through the System\u27s subsequent Treaties. The Article concludes that the Antarctic Treaty System has evolved from a regulatory system concerned with protecting and developing the fishing industries, to a more preservation-oriented system which protects all species as part of the global ecosystem

    Installment 2 of "Creating a Sustainable Food Future": Reducing Food Loss and Waste

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    Approximately one out of every four calories grown to feed people is not ultimately consumed by humans. Food is lost and wasted to a varying extent across the globe, across all stages of the food value chain, and across all types of food. As a result, overall global food availability is lower than it would be otherwise, negatively affecting food security and requiring the planet's agriculture system to produce additional food to compensate for the food that is not ultimately consumed by people. The potential benefits of reducing food loss and waste are large. As a strategy for closing the food gap between food available today and food needed in 2050 to adequately feed the planet's projected 9.3 billion people, reducing food loss and waste satisfies each of the development and environmental criteria we introduced in the first installment of the Creating a Sustainable Food Future series. While increasing food availability, reducing food loss and waste can alleviate poverty and provide gender benefits while reducing pressure on ecosystems, climate, and water. Reducing food loss and waste may be one of those rare multiple "win-win" strategies.How can the world go about reducing food loss and waste on a large scale? This installment of the forthcoming "World Resources Report Creating a Sustainable Food Future" addresses that question. This working paper, which will feed into that report, begins by clarifying definitions of food loss and waste, then quantifies the scale of the problem and explores the impact addressing the problem could have on the food gap. The paper then focuses on practical solutions for reducing food loss and waste and presents case studies of successful initiatives. It concludes by offering recommendations for how to scale up reductions in food loss and waste

    Birth Rates and Border Crossings: Latin American Migration to the US, Canada, Spain, and the UK

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    We use census data for the US, Canada, Spain, and UK to estimate bilateral migration rates to these countries from 25 Latin American and Caribbean nations over the period 1980 to 2005. Latin American migration to the US is responsive to labor supply shocks, as predicted by earlier changes in birth cohort sizes, and labor demand shocks associated with balance of payments crises and natural disasters. Latin American migration to Canada, Spain, and the UK, in contrast, is largely insensitive to these shocks, responding only to civil and military conflict. The results are consistent with US immigration policy toward Latin America (which is relatively permissive toward illegal entry) being mediated by market forces and immigration policy in the other countries (which favor skilled workers and asylum seekers, among other groups) insulating them from labor market shocks in the region.

    Installment 1 of Creating a Sustainable Food Future: The Great Balancing Act

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    During 2013 and 2014, WRI is releasing on a rolling basis a series of "Creating a Sustainable Food Future" working paper installments. Each installment will analyze a menu item from our proposed "menu for a sustainable food future" and recommend policies and other measures for implementation. The series will not, however, cover all menu items. Questions each installment will consider include:What is the menu item?How big an impact could it make in food availability, economic development, and environmental benefits?Where might the menu item be most applicable?What are the three to five most promising, practical, and scalable approaches for achieving this menu item?What are the obstacles -- economic, political, technical, or other -- to implementing these approaches?How can these obstacles be overcome?What "bright spots" of success exist, and what can be learned from them?Each installment will be coauthored by its own cohort of WRI researchers, WRR partners, and renowned experts. Authors will engage representatives from target audiences during the research and writing phases. After the series has concluded, WRI will consolidate the installments into a final World Resources Report. To avoid overlap with upcoming installments, this first working paper does not cover many of the issues that may be important for the food-development-environment nexus. For instance, it does not cover international investments in agricultural land ("land grabs"); the merits of small-scale versus large-scale agricultural systems; the influence of land tenure, property rights, and generational succession laws and norms on agricultural productivity; and policies for providing access to clean energy services for agriculture. Future installments will address some of these issues. Many of the analyses in this series are global in nature and use global datasets. We recognize that they may not fully account for the ethical, cultural, and socioeconomic factors of specific locations. Moreover, the menu for a sustainable food future is designed for the long term; it is not a menu for tackling acute, near-term food shortage crises

    A Prospective Surveillance Study of Candidaemia : Epidemiology, Risk Factors, Antifungal Treatment and Outcome in Hospitalized Patients

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    Funding This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology 097377/Z/11/Z. Data collection was supported by a grant from Pfizer. GR was also supported by a research fellowship grant from Gilead Sciences. The collection of the isolates was funded by a Gilead Fellowship to GR. Acknowledgments We are grateful to microbiology colleagues throughout Scotland for submitting isolates. Antimicrobial sensitivity testing was performed by the Mycology Reference Laboratory, Public Health England, Bristol.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
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