Developing and Adapting Space Law to Govern Long Term and Permanent Human Settlement of Outer Space, the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies

From ESA’s Moon Village to Elon Musk’s Martian cities, there is increasing talk of establishing permanent human settlements or outposts in outer space. November 2018 will mark 18 years of continuous human presence in space via the International Space Station (ISS). However, these new proposals are different for several reasons. They are intended to have a permanence never envisioned for the ISS, they are intended to be ‘home’ to more than professional astronauts and fewer than a handful of space tourists, and they will be located on the Moon and other celestial bodies. The ISS is treated by the existing space law regime as a space object, or an assembly of separate space objects, regarded as functionally no different from any other space object. However, whether this approach could be taken for facilities on the Moon and other celestial bodies is the proposed focus of this paper. None of the space law treaties provide a precise definition of the term ‘space object’, however the generally accepted understanding is that “space objects may be defined as artificial man made objects that are brought into space and are designed for use in outer space.”2 That is not to lament the lack of a specific definition, as it would most likely be disadvantageous to have been lumbered with the 1967 conception of ‘space object’. The nonspecificity of the treaties allow scope for development and adaptation to deal with the uses now proposed. Article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty potentially provides aid in this quest as it indicates that ‘objects constructed on a celestial body’ fall within the scope of ‘space object’. Therefore, it is most likely possible to construct a regime providing a legal basis for governance of space settlements and outposts utilizing the existing ‘space object’ concept. However, there will still be potential issue around the non-appropriation principle codified in Article II of the Outer Space Treaty. Which this paper will also explore. This is a topic which is vital for the maintenance of the existing space law regime and is of growing relevance as more proposals for permanent human presence are made

There's No Rush: Developing a Legal Framework for Space Resource Activities

There has been considerable excitement surrounding the regulation of space resource extraction and utilization activities since the 2012 debut of Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries – pioneering companies which shared the ambitious goal of mining asteroids. This excitement has spawned national legislation in the United States, Luxembourg and potentially more nations. It has also sparked considerable discussion at the main international forum for discussing the international governance of outer space, the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Additionally, The Hague International Space Resources Governance Working Group was established as a ‘multistakeholder dialogue’ with the aim of developing ‘draft building blocks’ for an ‘international framework’. This article examines what resources exist within our solar system, and the viability of economic extraction of those resources. It considers the nature of celestial bodies and whether differing approaches to extraction and utilization are necessary or at least worthy of consideration. It also discusses the nature and necessity of an international framework, given the potential for conflict over space resources and the need to consider issues of sustainability and equity. Ultimately, this article argues that given the demise of the two asteroid mining pioneers, it is worth taking the time to step back and reconsider our approach to the governance of space resource activities

Historical Materialism and Alternative Food: Alienation, Division of Labour, and the Production of Consumption

This article takes food issues in both the advanced capitalist and developing worlds, as well as discourses and struggles that have developed in response to them, as a point of departure. The exposition begins with a description of food sovereignty movements and their successful struggles. Third-world campaigns for food security are inspiring cases of resistance, of struggle for disalienation. The focus then shifts to the problems with the contemporary North American diet, and the ‘foodie’ response to the epidemic of poor eating and resulting poor health.Foodie culture as it has developed in the advanced capitalist world has severe limitations, particularly in regards to its treatment of gender and class. Yet it also contains important messages about meaningful human interaction with nature in the form of food procurement and preparation. The analysis developed here strives to go further than a critique of the distribution and availability of foodstuffs in the contemporary capitalist economy. The aim is to understand contestations over both the production and consumption of food in terms of some key categories of Marxist philosophy. It is argued that using the concepts of alienation, division of labour, and production of consumption can strengthen the case for food sovereignty while also mounting a critique of foodie culture that nonetheless preserves its constructive insights. More specifically, this means that an exploration of the relationship between the division of labour and alienation can demonstrate the negative consequences of industrially produced foods, while affirming the necessity of alternative forms of food production and consumption. Everywhere and in different ways, capitalism alienates humans from their species-being. This paper argues that this fact is particularly evident with regards to the industrial food system. However, just as food can be a site of oppression, so too can it be a locus of struggle against capital

Re-Enchanting Human Ecology: Identity and Difference, Process Metaphysics, and Emergence

Drawing from historical political thought and 20th century western philosophy, this dissertation advances a theory of secular enchantment of nature, humanity, and their relationship. Its underlying social and political goal is to inspire an ethic of ecological conservation and stewardship. Its philosophical goal is to lay a new ontological foundation for thinking and talking about the unique human place within the ecological world. Modern scientific inquiry and reasoned philosophical reflection can expose the facts and uncover the truths about the human relationship with nature. Such an endeavour is important, and forms the backbone of this dissertation. But it is not enough. The natural world is in crisis and the truth alone cannot save it. If it is to be deemed worth saving, nature must be restored as a fundamental site of meaning in human life. The great modernizing project has purged the supernatural from nature, and with it the grounds for meaning and ethical direction. Still, wielded properly, science and philosophy can reestablish the enchantment of nature. Using a wide variety of thinkers, this dissertation shows that rational inquiry can inspire a sense of wonder for ecological complexity, and for the special place humans occupy in the natural whole

Causality and the semantics of provenance

Provenance, or information about the sources, derivation, custody or history of data, has been studied recently in a number of contexts, including databases, scientific workflows and the Semantic Web. Many provenance mechanisms have been developed, motivated by informal notions such as influence, dependence, explanation and causality. However, there has been little study of whether these mechanisms formally satisfy appropriate policies or even how to formalize relevant motivating concepts such as causality. We contend that mathematical models of these concepts are needed to justify and compare provenance techniques. In this paper we review a theory of causality based on structural models that has been developed in artificial intelligence, and describe work in progress on a causal semantics for provenance graphs.Comment: Workshop submissio

The Kahnawá:ke Standoff and Reflections on Fascism

This article offers a critical interpretation of the state and media reactions to the crisis at Oka, Québec in the summer of 1990. Drawing on Marx’s analysis of Bonapartism, or fascism, it is argued that the Canadian state was willing to use excessive force to suppress the Mohawk dissidents. Its fascist methods also included racial demonizing and using the basest impulses of angry crowds to intimidate Natives. Mainstream media sources played an unmistakable role in channelling this racist violence against the rebelling Aboriginals. The function of competing nationalisms (Mohawk, Québécois and Canadian) in this episode is analyzed as well. It is argued that solidarity between the working class and the Mohawks may have resulted in a more positive outcome of the conflict. A renewed set of relations between the Canadian left and Aboriginals could reveal constructive ways forward for groups struggling under the weight of capitalist society and its state. Cet article offre une interprétation critique des réactions de l’Etat et des médias à la crise de Oka, Québec dans l’été 1990. Utilisant l’analyse que Marx avait faite du Bonapartisme ou fascisme, il suggère que l’Etat canadien était prêt à employer une force excessive afin de supprimer les dissidents Mohawk. Ses méthodes fascistes incluaient la diabolisation raciale et l’utilisation des pires impulsions des foules en colère afin d’intimider les Autochtones. Les médias dominants ont joué un rôle indubitable en canalisant cette violence raciste contre les Autochtones rebelles. La fonction des nationalismes rivaux (Mohawk, Québécois et Canadien) dans cet épisode est également analysée. Cet article défend que la solidarité entre la classe ouvrière et les Mohawk aurait pu aboutir à un résultat plus positif du conflit. Des relations renouvelées entre la gauche Canadienne et les Autochtones pourrait révéler des voies constructives pour des groupes luttant sous le poids de la société capitaliste et son Etat

Sovereignty, jurisdiction, and property in outer space: space resources, the outer space treaty, and national legislation

Space resources and space property rights have long been popular topics. This interest has increased recently. The development of an embryotic space resources industry, and national legislation intended to foster it, has turned what had previously been a somewhat academic discussion about the true scope of the ‘freedom’ to use outer space and the limitations of the ‘non-appropriation principle’ into one of significance not just for outer space but the international order more broadly. There is an ambiguity at the heart of the Outer Space Treaty, it places the ‘freedom of use’ of outer space in the first article, its preamble talks of opening outer space for the human future, yet the non-appropriation principle potentially prevents all of that. In order for there to be a human future in outer space humanity needs to be able to make use of the resources in outer space, but if they cannot be ‘appropriated’ then that cannot happen. This thesis seeks to understand that contradiction and identify solutions. It examines the Outer Space Treaty as the foundational and fundamental core of the space governance regime but also seeks to place it and the concept of property rights in a wider context. Utilizing, treaties, laws, negotiating records, and secondary sources from a range of disciplines, this thesis will examine the seeming contradiction between being free to use something but not to appropriate it. It will find that it is possible to construct a property rights regime for space resources within the framework of the Outer Space Treaty. However, in order for that regime to be practically useful, it will require international cooperation and coordination. It will require positive action to achieve. The alternative is anarchy, the likes of which Article II of the Outer Space Treaty was intended to avoid

A review of wildland fire spread modelling, 1990-present 2: Empirical and quasi-empirical models

In recent years, advances in computational power and spatial data analysis (GIS, remote sensing, etc) have led to an increase in attempts to model the spread and behaviour of wildland fires across the landscape. This series of review papers endeavours to critically and comprehensively review all types of surface fire spread models developed since 1990. This paper reviews models of an empirical or quasi-empirical nature. These models are based solely on the statistical analysis of experimentally obtained data with or without some physical framework for the basis of the relations. Other papers in the series review models of a physical or quasi-physical nature, and mathematical analogues and simulation models. The main relations of empirical models are that of wind speed and fuel moisture content with rate of forward spread. Comparisons are made of the different functional relationships selected by various authors for these variables.Comment: 22 pages + 7 pages references + 2 pages tables + 2 pages figures. Submitted to International Journal of Wildland Fir

Barriers and Gateways to Cleaning Up Earth Orbit: The Legal, Economic, and Political Dimensions of Debris Remediation

The preponderance of human-made debris in Earth orbit has long been recognized as a significant threat to continued safe operations in space. National space agencies and private space companies are paying considerable attention to the technical questions surrounding the active removal of debris (ADR). Nonetheless there are still significant legal, economic, and geopolitical questions that need to be addressed before any meaningful and sustained industry around the removal of debris can be established. This discussion will focus on identifying the legal issues of responsibility, jurisdiction and liability and proposing possible solutions within the current nexus of international agreements. Yet these must be considered alongside the economic roadblocks to funding ADR; the challenges for states looking to collaborate in current geopolitical circumstances; and the often overlooked ‘data deficit’ in respect of the space surveillance and tracking (SST) capabilities needed to enable the safe removal of debris. It is contended that any system for managing ADR, Debris Mitigation and general protection of the space environment should not emerge in isolation. A coherent system of managing and coordinating the orbital environment needs to be developed. This article will argue that it is for individual nations to show political leadership and an economic commitment to properly manage the delicate extraterrestrial environment. Failure to do so will represent a missed opportu nity and leave a troubling legacy for future generations