The Discursive Paradox of Environmental Conflict : Between Ecologism and Economism in Ecuador

Ecuador in times of the Rafael Correa government constitutes a prime example of the paradox of environmental conflict, in which all involved actors claim to represent the true vanguard concerning safeguarding of the environment and human conditions. The country presents the ecologically most progressive constitution in the world and also incorporates far-reaching recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights. Notwithstanding, the economy remains reliant on extractivism and the government argues that the revenues of extractive industries benefit the common good. Anchored in a distinction between environmentalism and ecologism, this article identifies and problematizes dominant narratives among the actors of the contentious discursive scenarios, and analyses how the state and its ecological-indigenous opposition aim to position themselves within the political conflict. The central questions are: How are eco-progressive politics perceived, defined and expressed in this setting of an intercultural and plurinational society economically reliant on natural resource extraction? Which values, interests and ontological assumptions are at stake and how are these expressed in the discursive struggle? The research is based on several years of ethnographic fieldwork, combined with critical reading of the previous literature and discourse analysis. The article contributes to politico-environmental debates in Ecuador and beyond and shows that environmental struggle is entangled in broader political disputes conditioned by global economic structures. It likewise communicates with debates on argumentative discourse and illustrates that the same core arguments can constitute the argumentative basis of rivalling actors in political struggles, thus emphasizing the centrality of the contextual framing amid ontological divides in contentious discursive settings. © 2018, © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Peer reviewe

Actions needed before insects can contribute to a real closed-loop circular economy in the EU

Insects are the waste managers of nature and could play a vital role in closing the loop of nutrients from society back into the food industry and thereby reduce the environmental impact of our food production system, as is the aim of EU's Farm to Fork strategy. Insects can be used to convert biodegradable waste into their own biomass that can be used as food or in animal feed, thus linking waste management to food production. However, food safety regulations prevent the use of around 70% of available food waste in the EU as rearing substrate for insects. To tap into the true environmental benefits of insects as an alternative protein source, they have to be reared on mixed food waste. The main reason for the food safety regulation is the outbreak of Mad Cow disease (BSE) in the 1980s, caused by prions (misfolded proteins). The circular system that gave rise to Mad Cow disease is the most closed loop system possible. Using insects in waste management to convert bio-waste into animal feed does not entail such a closed loop system, but rather introduces an extra barrier to disease transmission. In order to fully tap into the benefits of insects as an alternative protein source, it is crucial that funds are allocated to determine whether prions are truly a risk in a circular insect food production system

Process efficiency in relation to enzyme pre-treatment duration in black soldier fly larvae composting

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) composting is a treatment in which biodegradable food waste is converted into animal-feed protein and organic fertiliser. BSFL composting has greatest potential for mixed food waste, but under European Union regulations only plant-based waste is permitted as feed for larvae. Biomass conversion efficiency (BCE) in BSFL composting is lower for plant-based waste than for mixed food waste. One way of improving BCE for plant-based waste is to add enzymes to make the waste more available to the larvae, but enzyme pre-treatment is not commonly applied prior to BSFL composting. Therefore this study examined the impact of enzyme pre-treatment duration on process efficiency in BSFL composting of lettuce-cabbage waste pretreated with enzymes for 0-4 days. The results showed that total solids (TS) in larvae decreased with longer enzyme pre-treatment. Direct addition of enzymes at the start of BSFL treatment (0 day pre-treatment) resulted in 22% higher BCE on a volatile solids (VS) basis compared with the control, while longer pre-treatment did not improve BCE further. Much of the VS was respired in the 0-day pre-treatment, resulting in lower mass of residues at the end of treatment. Longer pre-treatment increased microbial respiration, suggesting that the microbial community consumed more easily available carbohydrates during the pre-treatment step, which counteracted the purpose of enzyme pre-treatment, i.e. increasing BCE during BSFL composting

Frass derived from black soldier fly treatment of biodegradable wastes. A critical review and future perspectives

Inadequately treated biodegradable waste is considered an environmental, social and economic threat worldwide, which call for great attention. Waste treatment with larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) complies with the concepts of circular economy, as it enables the transformation of these wastes into marketable products, closing loops and promoting circularity. The processing residues of the treatment (frass) is constantly generated in waste management facilities in large volumes, and this product can be used as an organic fertilizer in agriculture, stimulating a transition to a circular economy. However, many aspects related to frass are still unknown, such as its varying composition of nutrients, microorganisms and bioactive compounds, its post-processing requirements for improved biological stabilization, its behavior in the soil and action in the plants’ metabolism, among other aspects. In this review article, we highlight the potential of frass from BSF larvae treatment of biodegradable waste in the world market regarding its possible use as a fertilizer, summarize recent results with this novel product and point towards future research perspectives

Indigeneity, decolonization and the paradox of extractive development in the Plurinational State of Bolivia

Históricamente, los pueblos indígenas fueron marginados y oprimidos en la economía política boliviana. En tiempos de Evo Morales en la presidencia y con la Constitución de 2009, la descolonización política, económica, social y cultural ha llegado a ser el proyecto central de la transformación del Estado y la sociedad. Por un lado, la nueva Constitución ha sido clasificada como una de las más progresistas del mundo en relación con los derechos étnicamente definidos. Los principios indígenas ético-filosóficos del Suma Qamaña/Vivir Bien, acerca de la relación armónica entre individuos y naturaleza fueron incorporados en la Constitución. Por otro lado, estos derechos colisionan con los derechos sociales más amplios (definidos por clase), e igualmente, con los derechos del Estado de extraer y comercializar los recursos naturales (en especial hidrocarburos y minería) bajo la bandera de la justicia redistributiva, reformas sociales y bien común, que en este estudio se define como la paradoja del desarrollismo extractivista. Este artículo se basa en un trabajo etnográfico y se problematiza el dilema extractivista y las tensiones entre derechos étnicos y derechos de clase. De esta manera, se aporta a los debates sobre la indigeneidad y la los desafíos y dilemas de proyectos descolonizadoresHistorically, indigenous peoples have been marginalized and oppressed in the Bolivian political economy. During the presidency of Evo Morales, and under the 2009 Constitution, political, economic, social and cultural decolonization has become the central project for the transformation of the State and society. On the one hand, the new Constitution has been classified as one of the most progressive in the world with respect to ethnically defined rights; the indigenous ethical-philosophical principles of Suma Qamaña/Vivir Bien, referring to the harmonious relationship between individuals and nature, have been incorporated into the Constitution. On the other hand, these rights collide with broader social rights (defined by class) and also the rights of the State to extract and market natural resources (especially hydrocarbon extraction and mining) under the banner of redistributive justice, social reforms and the common good. This collision is defined in this study as the paradox of extractivist developmentalism. The article is based on an ethnographic work and problematizes the extractivist dilemma and the tensions between ethnic rights and class rights, thus contributing to debates about indigeneity and the challenges and dilemmas of decolonizing project

Process efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions in black soldier fly larvae composting of fruit and vegetable waste with and without pre-treatment

One technology that implements circular economy principles is black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) composting. To assess the environmental impact of BSFL technology, more data on emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and ammonia are needed. This study investigated process efficiency and GHG emissions from BSFL composting of orange peels and a mix of broccoli and cauliflower trimmings, with and without pre-treatment. Two weeks of substrate pre-treatment with ammonia or fungi (Trichoderma reesei) were investigated, and direct emissions of GHG and ammonia from the process were evaluated. Process efficiency was evaluated by waste-to-biomass conversion efficiency (BCE) and material reduction. In BSFL composting of trimmings, BCE was not significantly improved by pre-treatment, However, larval volatile solids (VS) load in the fungi pre-treated treatment was very low, likely contributing to low BCE. BCE was low (6%) in the peel control and even lower in the pre treatments, indicating that this substrate is unsuitable for BSFL composting. Material reduction was largest for trimmings (84%) and peels (60%) pre-treated with fungi. Emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), expressed in CO2-eq, were very low (0.04-1.57 g/kg initial wet weight (ww)) compared with direct CO2 emissions (47-147 g/kg initial ww). Fungi pre-treatment appeared to make the trimmings more available to the larvae, while also drying out the substrate and removing a large proportion of available VS. Thus fungi pretreatment could be used to increase waste treatment capacity. Ammonia pre-treatment reduced emissions of CH4 and N2O without affecting overall BCE, but significantly increased NH3 emissions

Alkaline dehydration of source -separated fresh human urine: Preliminary insights into using different dehydration temperature and media

For sanitation systems aiming at recycling nutrients, separately collecting urine at source is desirable as urine contains most of the nutrients in wastewater. However, reducing the volume of the collected urine and recovering majority of its nutrients is necessary, as this improves the transportability and the end-application of urine-based fertilisers. In this study, we present an innovative method, alkaline dehydration, for treating fresh human urine into a nutrient-rich dry solid. Our aim was to investigate whether fresh urine (pH11) could be dehydrated at elevated temperatures (50 and 60 °C) with minimal loss of urea, urine's principal nitrogen compound. We found that it was possible to concentrate urine 48 times, yielding dry end-products with high fertiliser value: approximately, 10% N, 1% P, and 4% K. We monitored the physico-chemical properties and the composition of various dehydration media to provide useful insights into their suitability for dehydrating urine. We demonstrated that it is possible to recover >90% nitrogen when treating fresh urine by alkaline dehydration by inhibiting the enzymatic hydrolysis of urea at elevated pH and minimisingthe chemical hydrolysis of urea with high urine dehydration rates

Розробка системи керування опорно-поворотного пристрою на основі крокових двигунів типу ДБМ

As interest in renewable energy sources is steadily on the rise, tidal current energy is receiving more and more attention from politicans, industrialists, and academics. In this article, the conditions for and potential of tidal currents as an energy resource in Norway are reviewed. There having been a relatively small amount of academic work published in this particular field, closely related topics such as the energy situation in Norway in general, the oceanography of the Norwegian coastline, and numerical models of tidal currents in Norwegian waters are also examined. Two published tidal energy resource assessments are reviewed and compared to a desktop study made specifically for this review based on available data in pilot books. The argument is made that tidal current energy ought to be an important option for Norway in terms of renewable energy

El contexto histórico del chavismo y los partidos políticos venezolanos de la izquierda

ResumenMuchos académicos han ignorado la importancia de conexiones históricas entre el movimiento político alrededor del Presidente venezolano Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (Chavismo) y los partidos políticos históricos de la izquierda. En este artículo se analizan las raíces. así como el desarrollo y la situación actual del Chavismo a travéz de consideraciones históricas sobre los partidos políticos izquierdistas del país.Palabras clave: Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, Chavismo, Sistema de partidos políticos, partidos izquierdistas