Sustainable agriculture : pragmatism, distinctions on artifacts and the role of the land ethic

This thesis will explore the ethical dimensions of global agriculture from the productionist paradigm to the land ethic in the context of the sustainable agriculture promoted in the fair trade, shade grown, and organic coffee movements. Much of the sustainable development debate in the environmental ethics literature has centered on justifications (from anthropocentric and nonanthropocentric worldviews) for preserving nature. Since agriculture is an artifact of human sedentary civilization, traditional nonanthropocentric arguments do not suffice because of the tendency to focus exclusively on natural systems. Building on the work of Katz\u27s Pragmatic ReConsideration and Light\u27s methodological pragmatism, the role of anthropocentric and nonanthropo centric worldviews in the ethical justifications for policy is considered. After developing a pragmatic reconsideration of worldviews, it will be argued that a sustainable agriculture with regard to ecosystem preservation can be achieved by expanding the biotic community referenced in Leopold\u27s Land Ethic to include agriculture or by accepting multiple overlapping arguments as does methodological pragmatism. Ecologists agree that biological corridors are essential to proper functioning and the carrying capacity of migratory species. From a policy perspective, sustainable agriculture means not only the preservation of natural systems, but also the integration of surrounding artifactual systems to support those natural systems

Pandemic disruptions in energy and the environment

Public health measures implemented during the coronavirus pandemic have had significant global impacts on energy systems. Some changes may be ephemeral: as industries go back to work and supply chains relink once production resumes, energy use and emissions have and will continue to rebound. Some may be more durable, such as reductions in commuter and business travel and increases in teleworking. The crisis has exposed the persistent vulnerability of communities of color and those living in poverty, as well as highlighting weaknesses in just-in-time production systems and inequities of supply chains. The social and policy response to the societal impacts of the coronavirus crisis will affect energy systems and the environment in complex and dynamic ways over the long run. Strategic policy responses by nations, communities, organizations, and individuals could go a long way toward reshaping energy systems and impacts on communities and the environment. Here, we highlight themes for continued investigation and research into socioecological interactions between the Great Lockdown and pathways for recovery with a focus on energy systems and the environment

Sowing seeds of hope in California's fields of resistance to Pharm rice and Frankenfish

California has been an important site of governance on risks from genetically engineered (GE) organisms. This paper reviews California's efforts to govern the ecological and food safety risks from GE salmon and GE pharmaceutical rice. We explain how a political constellation of actors emerged to pursue precautionary policies, and we discuss the prospects for similar policies elsewhere. We find that regulation of particularly risky objects is possible in some places, particularly where social movement organizations are mobilized and the possible consequences are severe, such as with impacts to wild salmon runs or pharmaceutically contaminated foods. But such regulations may only emerge when they are inconsequential to, or aligned with, the market concerns of dominant economic interests. Key Words: genetically engineered organisms, social movements, biosafety, California

Pursuing Clean Energy Equitably

This paper explores the opportunities for a ‘just transition’ to low carbon and sustainable energy systems; one that addresses the current inequities in the distribution of energy benefits and their human and ecological costs. In order to prioritize policies that address energy poverty alleviation and sustainability concerns, national action and higher levels of international cooperation and coordination are required to steer public policy towards a broader range of public interests. This also implies re-directing the vast sums of private energy finance that currently serve a narrow set of interests. This paper considers how national and global energy governance must adapt and change to ensure a just transition to low carbon and sustainable energy systems. Creating a low carbon and sustainable energy transition will face significant challenges in overcoming opposition from a broad array of interest groups. The challenges of guiding a just transition are amplified by the relinquishing of government control over the energy sector in many countries and the current weak and fragmented state of global energy governance. The necessary changes in energy decision making will entail complex trade-offs and rebound effects that make strong, participatory and transparent institutional arrangements essential in order to govern such challenges equitably. In this respect, procedural justice is critical to achieving distributive justice and to creating a simultaneously rapid, sustainable and equitable transition to clean energy futures

Sustainable minerals and metals for a low carbon future

Climate change mitigation will create new natural resource and supply chain opportunities and dilemmas, as substantial amounts of raw materials will be required to build new low carbon energy devices and infrastructure (1). Between 2015 and 2050, the global electric vehicle stock needs to jump from 1.2 million light-duty passenger cars to 965 million passenger cars; battery storage capacity needs to climb from 0.5 gigawatt -hours (GWh) to 12,380 GWh; and the amount of installed solar PV capacity must rise from 223 gigawatts (GW) to over 7,100 GW (2). The materials and metals demanded by a low-carbon economy will be immense. (3)

Techno–ecological synergies of solar energy for global sustainability

The strategic engineering of solar energy technologies—from individual rooftop modules to large solar energy power plants—can confer significant synergistic outcomes across industrial and ecological boundaries. Here, we propose techno–ecological synergy (TES), a framework for engineering mutually beneficial relationships between technological and ecological systems, as an approach to augment the sustainability of solar energy across a diverse suite of recipient environments, including land, food, water, and built-up systems. We provide a conceptual model and framework to describe 16 TESs of solar energy and characterize 20 potential techno–ecological synergistic outcomes of their use. For each solar energy TES, we also introduce metrics and illustrative assessments to demonstrate techno–ecological potential across multiple dimensions. The numerous applications of TES to solar energy technologies are unique among energy systems and represent a powerful frontier in sustainable engineering to minimize unintended consequences on nature associated with a rapid energy transition

Review of Lifeblood: oil, freedom, and the forces of capital

A review of Lifeblood: oil, freedom, and the forces of capital, by Matthew T. Huber, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 2013, 253 pp., $25 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-8166-7785-

Green Energy: An A-to-Z Guide

David Downie is a contributing author, Berlin Mandate. Book description: This initial volume in the SAGE Series on Green Society provides an overview of the social and environmental dimensions of our energy system, and the key organizations, policy tools, and technologies that can help shape a green-energy economy. Each entry draws on scholarship from across numerous social sciences, natural and physical sciences, and engineering. The urgency of climate change underscores the importance of getting the right technologies, policies and incentives, and social checks-and-balances in place. This reference resource will prepare those with a sparking interest in the topic to participate in what will hopefully become an equitable and intergenerational conversation about the impacts of our energy consumption and how to make it cleaner and greener. Via its 150 signed entries, Green Energy: An A-to-Z Guide provides students, professors, and researchers an invaluable reference, presented in both print and electronic formats. Its clear and accessible writing style, together with vivid photos, numerous cross-references, extensive resource guide, and other pedagogical tools make it a valuable tool for the classroom as well as for research purposes.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/politics-books/1037/thumbnail.jp