Common ground

In Common Ground, environmentalist Mark Everard explores the often taken for granted relationship between humans and the land. In order to look forward, Everard looks back. He problematizes the tragedy of the commons, a concept developed by ecologist Garrett Hardin in 1968, which posits that common ownership results in resource overexploitation. Drawing on Marxist theory, Everard cites successful medieval European examples of the collaborative stewardship of common resources, such as grazing grounds. He then provides an informative synopsis of the transition from common to private land ownership, beginning in 1235 with the Statue of Merton which permitted the enclosure of common lands by the aristocracy. Such private land ownership often fosters a ‘winner takes all’ mentality, where land is viewed as a one-dimensional entity intended to enrich the landholder... 

Read more: Canadian Review of Sociology 2012 49(4): 443-445

Oil, ecotourism and climate change: The political economy of Newfoundland, 1992-2010

Political economy report prepared for:

Dr. Mark Stoddart, Memorial University

SSHRC-funded project 
‘Puffins, kayaks and oil rigs: Shifting modes of society-environment interaction on the Newfoundland coast’

The year of the cod moratorium marks a turning point in the political economy of Newfoundland and Labrador. From the 1600s to 1992, fisheries were a key component of the Newfoundland’s economy. Since 1992, two prominent strategies have been concertedly pursued to diversify Newfoundland’s economy: ‘extractive’ development in the form of the oil and gas sector and ‘attractive’ development in the form of tourism, specifically ecotourism (Luke, 2002). This report explores the paradoxical pursuit of both extractive and attractive development in Newfoundland and Labrador. Specifically, this report outlines the political economy of the oil and gas sector, ecotourism sector and provincial climate change policy between 1992 and 2010, identifying areas for future....  

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Climate intelligence

Crises provide the ‘‘chance for a creative disruption of old structures in the economy and foster innovation as well as technological change’’. The editors of the six part, Transport Moving to Climate Intelligence New Chances for Controlling Climate Impacts of Transport after the Economic Crisis, forward the argument that the global economic crisis offers just such an opportunity....  

Read more: Journal of Transport Geography 2012 22: 317

Policy in motion

In 2008, the Canadian province of British Columbia was a first-mover in North America, implementing a broad-based carbon tax. Of the carbon pricing initiatives implemented or considered in North America during this period, British Columbia’s carbon tax is unique in that it includes the transport sector and is set at a relatively high price which is scheduled to escalate. The development of British Columbia’s carbon tax policy is the strongest example of the implementation of more systemic, rather than marginal, climate pricing policy in the transport sector in North America....  

Read more: Journal of Transport Geography 2011 19(6): 1474-1481

Here on Earth

Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet is as much a personal letter to humanity as a natural history of the planet. It asks, “Will ours be a Medean or Gaian future?”, referring to diverging hypotheses named for Greek goddesses, one destructive and the other life-giving. Tim Flannery – Australian scientist, Copenhagen Climate Council chairman and author of The Weather Makers – argues that rather than being a foregone conclusion, “what we believe…will determine our fate.” The time to decide what we believe, he says, is upon us...

Read more Green Book Reviews Alternatives 09.12.11

Central Park's roots

Of the site selected in 1857 for New York’s majestic Central Park, designer Frederick Law Olmsted lamented, “It would have been difficult to find another body of land…which possessed less of what we have seen to be the most desirable characteristics of a park.” Olmsted went on to transform the scraggy, rocky land into a naturalistic park, and a playground for his democratic ideals: “… the park is intended to furnish healthful recreation for the poor and the rich, the young and the old, the vicious and the virtuous.” In his book Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted, author Justin Martin sets out to give Olmsted due recognition as a pioneering environmentalist...

Read more Green Book Reviews Alternatives 07.25.11

Anatomy of an epidemic

The trust inherent in a community’s relationship with its water utility is profound and often unquestioned. That is, until a rash of illness opens the floodgate to doubt. In The Epidemic: A Collision of Power, Privilege, and Public Health, author David DeKok reconstructs a deadly typhoid epidemic in New York. In Canada, the cases of Walkerton, Ontario, North Battleford, Saskatchewan, and the 116 First Nations communities currently on boil water orders are reminders that lessons all too often need to be relearned... 

Read more Green Book Reviews Alternatives 04.11.11