The persistent nucleus: atoms, power and energy policy discourse in the anthropocene

Despite economic debacles, recurring “accidents”, reactor core meltdowns in Chernobyl and Fukushima and the cautious academic reflection it has engendered, civilian nuclear power continues to enjoy legitimacy in energy policy discourse. This may not be the case in all countries. But it is so in a number of influential states, such as, prominently, all the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Why does nuclear power persist in these and other key countries, such as India or Iran and Japan? How is it that economic costs, technology risks and weapons proliferation concerns point in one direction while energy policy and technology choice moves in the other? We suggest that for an important set of select countries this divergence can be ascribed to a “discourse of power” that is pegged to domestic concerns and, more importantly, to international relations. This discursive process constructs energy and material abundance as the cornerstone of social stability, political power and ultimately national sovereignty and geopolitical influence. The atom’s energy remains prominent in such imaginaries of abundance, more so in contexts of fossil energy insecurity and climate change. The questioning then of nuclear power by environmental and social concerns has to also question this discourse of power. The latter’s sanguinity vis-a-vis abundant energy needs to be problematised. This is not the case today in international relations. Practitioners focus on the consequences of environmental deterioration. The problem of climate refugees, for example. This paper argues that realist frames of power and self-interest in international relations be acknowledged explicitly as drivers of the discourse of power and in turn the socio-ecological consequences that ensue from this pursuit of cheap and abundant energy. To challenge nuclear power ultimately is to also challenge this medieval yet dominant norm of power play that pervades large swathes of international relations

The Paris climate change agreement and after

In a turn towards pragmatism the Paris Climate Change Agreement, concluded in December 2015, adopted a markedly different architecture for global climate governance. It remains to be seen if pragmatism produces effectiveness. However, in lieu of the approach under the Kyoto Protocol, where binding emission reduction targets for Annex 1 Parties (broadly, the industrialized countries) to the Protocol were arrived at by a formula, the Paris Agreement records Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) arrived at independently by the Parties and submitted to the United Nations. This turn towards an independent, non-binding and voluntary vocabulary for targets and efforts by countries to combat climate change is the result of strident resistance by some developed countries (most notably, the United States) to the arrangement arrived at in the Kyoto Protocol that placed the responsibility for greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigations during the first commitment period (2008–2012) entirely on the industrialized economie

Ten new insights in climate science 2022

Non-technical summary We summarize what we assess as the past year's most important findings within climate change research: limits to adaptation, vulnerability hotspots, new threats coming from the climate–health nexus, climate (im)mobility and security, sustainable practices for land use and finance, losses and damages, inclusive societal climate decisions and ways to overcome structural barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2°C. Technical summary We synthesize 10 topics within climate research where there have been significant advances or emerging scientific consensus since January 2021. The selection of these insights was based on input from an international open call with broad disciplinary scope. Findings concern: (1) new aspects of soft and hard limits to adaptation; (2) the emergence of regional vulnerability hotspots from climate impacts and human vulnerability; (3) new threats on the climate–health horizon – some involving plants and animals; (4) climate (im)mobility and the need for anticipatory action; (5) security and climate; (6) sustainable land management as a prerequisite to land-based solutions; (7) sustainable finance practices in the private sector and the need for political guidance; (8) the urgent planetary imperative for addressing losses and damages; (9) inclusive societal choices for climate-resilient development and (10) how to overcome barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2°C. Social media summary Science has evidence on barriers to mitigation and how to overcome them to avoid limits to adaptation across multiple fields

Overhead tank is the potential breeding habitat of Anopheles stephensi in an urban transmission setting of Chennai, India

Background: Wells and overhead tanks (OHT) are the major breeding sources of the local malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi in the Indian city of Chennai; they play a significant role in vector breeding, and transmission of urban malaria. Many other man-made breeding habitats, such as cemented cisterns/containers, barrels or drums, sumps or underground tanks, and plastic pots/containers are maintained to supplement water needs, temporarily resulting in enhanced mosquito/vector breeding. Correlating breeding habitats with immature vector abundance is important in effective planning to strengthen operational execution of vector control measures. Methods: A year-long, weekly study was conducted in Chennai to inspect available clear/clean water mosquito breeding habitats. Different breeding features, such as instar-wise, immature density and co-inhabitation with other mosquito species, were analysed. The characteristics of breeding habitats, i.e., type of habitat, water temperature and presence of aquatic organisms, organic matter and green algal remnants on the water surface at the time of inspection, were also studied. Immature density of vector was correlated with presence of other mosquito species, malaria prevalence, habitat characteristics and monthly/seasonal fluctuations. All the data collected from field observations were analysed using standard statistical tools. Results: When the immature density of breeding habitats was analysed, using one-way ANOVA, it was observed that the density did not change in a significant way either across seasons or months. OHTs contributed significantly to the immature population when compared to wells and other breeding habitats of the study site. The habitat positivity of wells and OHTs was significantly associated with the presence of aquatic organisms, organic matter and algal remnants. Significant correlations of malaria prevalence with monthly immature density, as well as number of breeding habitats with immature vector mosquitoes, were also observed. Conclusions: The findings that OHTs showed fairly high and consistent immature density of An. stephensi irrespective of seasons indicates the potentiality of the breeding habitat in contributing to vector density. The correlation between vector breeding habitats, immature density and malaria prevalence indicates the proximity of these habitats to malaria cases, proving its role in vector abundance and local malaria transmission. The preference of An. stephensi to breed in OHTs calls for intensified, appropriate and sustained intervention measures to curtail vector breeding and propagation to shrink malaria to pre-elimination level and beyond

Nations within a nation: variations in epidemiological transition across the states of India, 1990–2016 in the Global Burden of Disease Study

18% of the world's population lives in India, and many states of India have populations similar to those of large countries. Action to effectively improve population health in India requires availability of reliable and comprehensive state-level estimates of disease burden and risk factors over time. Such comprehensive estimates have not been available so far for all major diseases and risk factors. Thus, we aimed to estimate the disease burden and risk factors in every state of India as part of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016

Lessons from Dharnai, “India’s First Fully Solar-Powered Village”: A Case Study

: This case study is of “India’s First Fully Solar Powered Village”2 —Dharnai. It is a case of the promises of and challenges facing the realization of “energy democracy”—the idea that distributed renewable energy systems have the potential to democratize the economy and society. This case study offers the reader three takeaways. First, it locates the project at Dharnai in relation to the theoretical framework of energy democracy and the national and global renewable energy policy regimes. This is based on the academic literature on energy-society studies, documentation and outreach material about the project and interviews with individuals involved in the life of the project. Second, the case study details how the project was conceived and implemented in Dharnai. Third, it records how citizens of Dharnai experienced the microgrid, as well as their interpretation of what it means for them. The latter two takeaways are based on interviews with the villagers of Dharnai conducted in December 2017 and March 2020 as well as interviews with individuals associated with the project as representatives of its external proponents. This case study ends with some considerations about the realization of energy democracy; specifically, the proposal of devolving sovereignty to the grassroots through participatory governance enabled by the ability to devolve ownership of energy infrastructure. The challenge illustrated by this case study, to the idea of energy democracy as an alternative path to energy transition, is two-fold. First, the relatively low capacity of solar photovoltaic systems to convert energy, i.e., “power density,” was perceived to be at odds with the aspired to levels of energy availability. The citizens of Dharnai tended to associate the more expansive availability of electricity from the grid, as “real electricity,” that was more closely matched to meeting their aspirations. Low power density limits the possible economically productive applications, which further undermines the financial viability of the project. Second, somewhat surprisingly, some of the citizens’ of Dharnai tended to disavow their capacity for participatory governance, presumed in the energy democracy literature, insisting instead that an external, powerful actor, whom they “feared,” was better suited to manage the affairs of the microgrid. This could be understood as suggesting that prior to, or at least in parallel with investments in decentralized energy technology, significant commitment is needed to understand and foster the social and cultural infrastructures for participatory democracy and local governance. Such an engagement may have to grapple with deep-seated caste divisions and the resulting undermining of civic community

Degrowth in Movement: Exploring Pathways for Transformation

The volume under review here takes the view that redressing entrenched injustice and resulting socioecological crises is not about smarter management of the system but requires radical rethink�ing and transformation. To that end, it presents degrowth as a three-pronged proposal. The first prong constitutes a critique of the “global growth paradigm” requiring a reduction in the “bio�physical size of the economy.” Second is a recognition that unjust appropriation of biophysical stocks and flows is ultimately made possible by deeply entrenched impunity—an “imperial mode of living”—and a call therefore for the “depriviligization” of those who live beyond their just share of socioecological resources. In other words, degrowth, as this book presents it, takes aim at the “overdeveloped” countries of the Global North. The third prong represents a creative and constructive enterprise of imagining “growth-independent institutions and infrastructures” (12). These alternatives are built on values such as “sharing, simplicity, conviviality, care, and the commons” (D’Alisa, Demaria, and Kallis 2015). This volume reflects on such concepts and illustrates instances of these values in practice. The editors make it a point to distinguish and contrast these progressive values from those of “progressive productivists,” or what the book also refers to, with a significant degree of generalization, as a “socialist futurism” (10) invested in emancipation through further economic growth, productivity gains through scale, technological progress, centralization, and finally, redistribution