Environmental justice and conceptions of the green economy

Green economy has become one of the most fashionable terms in global environmental public policy discussions and forums. Despite this popularity, and its being selected as one of the organizing themes of the United Nations Rio+20 Conference in Brazil, June 2012, its prospects as an effective mobilization tool for global environmental sustainability scholarship and practice remains unclear. A major reason for this is that much like its precursor concepts such as environmental sustainability and sustainable development, green economy is a woolly concept which lends itself to many interpretations. Hence, rather than resolve long-standing controversies, green economy merely reinvigorates existing debates over the visions, actors and policies best suited to secure a more sustainable future for all. In this review article, we aim to fill an important gap in scholarship by suggesting various ways in which green economy may be organized and synthesized as a concept, and especially in terms of its relationship with the idea of social and environmental justice. Accordingly, we offer a systemization of possible interpretations of green economy mapped onto a synthesis of existing typologies of environmental justice. This classification provides the context for future analysis of which, and how, various notions of green economy link with various conceptions of justice

Drug addiction

Drug addiction is a pervasive worldwide problem characterized by compulsive drug use that continues despite negative consequences and treatment attempts. Historically, the biological basis of drug addiction has focused principally on neuronal activity. However, despite their pivotal role in the underlying pathology of drug addiction, neurons are not the only central nervous system (CNS) component involved. The role of additional cell types, especially the CNS immunocompetent microglial cells, in the development of tolerance and related neuroplastic changes during drug taking, addiction, and withdrawal is also emerging. Within this perspective, this chapter reviews the roles of microglial cells in several aspects of drug addiction and its behavioural consequences, including reward, tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal. The cellular and molecular mechanisms which are particularly recruited will be emphasized. Lastly, we will also summarize the development of pharmacological modulators of microglial activation that offer novel treatment strategies and highlight the need to better understand the roles of microglia in the context of drug addiction.Xiaohui Wang, Thomas A. Cochran, Mark R. Hutchinson, Hang Yin, and Linda R. Watkin