Adam Smith’s Green Thumb and Malthus’ Three Horsemen: Cautionary tales from classical political economy

This essay identifies a contradiction between the flourishing interest in the environmental economics of the classical period and a lack of critical parsing of the works of its leading representatives. Its focus is the work of Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus. It offers a critical analysis of their contribution to environmental thought and surveys the work of their contemporary devotees. It scrutinizes Smith's contribution to what Karl Polanyi termed the "economistic fallacy," as well as his defenses of class hierarchy, the "growth imperative" and consumerism. It subjects to critical appraisal Malthus's enthusiasm for private property and the market system, and his opposition to market regulation. While Malthus's principal attraction to ecological economists lies in his having allegedly broadened the scope of economics, and in his narrative of scarcity, this article shows that he, in fact, narrowed the scope of the discipline and conceptualized scarcity in a reified and pseudo-scientific way

Efficient Methanol Production on the Dark Side of a Prestellar Core

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array maps of the starless molecular cloud core Ophiuchus/H-MM1 in the lines of deuterated ammonia (ortho-NH2D), methanol (CH3OH), and sulfur monoxide (SO). The dense core is seen in NH2D emission, whereas the CH3OH and SO distributions form a halo surrounding the core. Because methanol is formed on grain surfaces, its emission highlights regions where desorption from grains is particularly efficient. Methanol and sulfur monoxide are most abundant in a narrow zone that follows the eastern side of the core. This side is sheltered from the stronger external radiation field coming from the west. We show that photodissociation on the illuminated side can give rise to an asymmetric methanol distribution but that the stark contrast observed in H-MM1 is hard to explain without assuming enhanced desorption on the shaded side. The region of the brightest emission has a wavy structure that rolls up at one end. This is the signature of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability occurring in sheared flows. We suggest that in this zone, methanol and sulfur are released as a result of grain-grain collisions induced by shear vorticity.Peer reviewe

Transformative sensemaking: Development in Whose Image? Keyan Tomaselli and the semiotics of visual representation

The defining and distinguishing feature of homo sapiens is its ability to make sense of the world, i.e. to use its intellect to understand and change both itself and the world of which it is an integral part. It is against this backdrop that this essay reviews Tomaselli's 1996 text, Appropriating Images: The Semiotics of Visual Representation/ by summarizing his key perspectives, clarifying his major operational concepts and citing particular portions from his work in support of specific perspectives on sense-making. Subsequently, this essay employs his techniques of sense-making to interrogate the notion of "development". This exercise examines and confirms two interrelated hypotheses: first, a semiotic analysis of the privileged notion of "development" demonstrates its metaphysical/ ideological, and thus limiting, nature especially vis-a-vis the marginalized, excluded, and the collective other, the so-called Developing Countries. Second, the interrogative nature of semiotics allows for an alternative reading and application of human potential or skills in the quest of a more humane social and global order, highlighting thereby the transformative implications of a reflexive epistemology.Web of Scienc

Healthy country, healthy people: an Australian Aboriginal organisation's adaptive governance to enhance its social-ecological system

Scholars and environmental managers of complex social-ecological systems (SESs) have called for new institutional models to facilitate adaptive governance. This paper explores one adaptive governance approach as used by Girringun Aboriginal Corporation, an association of Australian Aboriginal groups in north-eastern Australia. Girringun uses this approach to translate customary obligations into sophisticated management actions that address the complex social, economic, land and sea management challenges encountered on its members' country. Its decision-making is informed by philosophies of 'caring for country' and 'healthy country, healthy people'. Girringun's strategies articulate cultural, social and livelihood development aspirations into environmental management, education and visual art projects and activities. Governance emphasises strong and visionary leadership, reconciliation, and strategic partnerships developed to expand its role as SES managers in co-operation with non-Aboriginal organisations. Girringun's innovative structure and creative strategies provide insight into adaptive governance of cross-cultural SES, where differing aspirations and institutional arrangements can be melded towards creative management opportunities

A strategic sector development and research priority framework for the traditional owner-led bush products sector in northern Australia

The Traditional Owner-led Bush Products Sector continues to grow across northern Australia. It is largely comprised of enterprises that are underpinned by a cultural ethic and which are locally embedded (Maclean et al, 2019). These enterprises include those that engage in the development and sale of products that can be broadly defined as bush foods; native plant derived industries (seed harvesting, nurseries, cut flowers); and those involved in the development of botanicals-based products (e.g. bush medicines, essential oils, health and beauty products) (Woodward et al, 2019). Each of these types of enterprises develop products from the wild harvest, cultivation and/or enrichment planting of select native plants. As this research project has documented (see Woodward et al, 2019; Maclean et al, 2019) there is significant opportunity for investment in the development of this sector. This report constitutes the final deliverable for the CRCNA and CSIRO funded project ‘Building the Traditional Owner-led Bush Products Sector’ in northern Australia: The Strategic Sector Development and Research Priority Framework (including an Aboriginal supply chain, investment plan and research concept note to guide future research to support Sector growth). The Framework identifies key investment priorities and associated research requirements to support development of the Traditional Owner-led Bush Products Sector

Mapping cultural ecosystem services with rainforest aboriginal peoples: Integrating biocultural diversity, governance and social variation

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) include the aesthetic, artistic, educational, spiritual and/or scientific values of ecosystems and have been described as ‘intangible’ and complex, reflecting diverse people-nature interactions that are embedded in dynamic linked social-ecological systems. CES have proved difficult to value, therefore mapping CES has largely concentrated on more tangible aspects, such as tourism and recreation—presenting the risk that highly significant cultural relationships, such as those between Indigenous peoples and their traditional land, will be rendered invisible in ecosystem assessments. We present our results from co-research with a group of ‘Rainforest Aboriginal peoples׳ from the Wet Tropics, Australia that illustrates a method to address this gap through mapping their perceptions of the health of Indigenous CES. We found that categories associated with biocultural diversity and governance matched their perceptions better than the usual framework that recognizes aesthetic, spiritual and other categories. Co-produced maps presented demonstrate spatial patterns of CES that are related primarily to variations in social attributes (such as adherence to cultural protocols), rather than the ecological attributes (such as biodiversity patterns). Further application of these concepts of biocultural diversity governance, and variation in social attributes when mapping CES, particularly in partnerships with Indigenous peoples is recommended