From revelation to revolution: apocalypticism in green politics

Apocalyptic narratives in green politics have provoked much controversy about questions of rhetoric and framing. Critics argue that constant warnings about impending environmental collapse demoralise and demobilise the public, while advocates argue that dire predictions embody a realism necessary if the radical collective action required for a green transition is to be taken. This is not just a debate about the tactics of presentation; at a substantive ideological level, the multilayered questions raised by apocalypticism cut to the heart of significant divisions in the green movement between radical and mainstream currents concerning their orientation to structures of political and economic power. Comparisons with the contested historical tradition of apocalyptics in Christian theology shed light upon the dynamic tensions between movement insurgency and institutionalisation. Apocalypticism has played a key role in framing the green critique of capitalist modernity and is intrinsically connected to the formulation of utopic alternatives. In both theory and practice, it remains the animating spirit of radical environmentalism.     

Young adult conservation jobs and worker health

Decades of research studies demonstrate links between healthy environment, healthy lifestyles, and healthy people. This study evaluated the correlations between young adult conservation workers' perceived stress, personal effectiveness, and nature experience using quantitative and qualitative social science methods. The study cohort numbered nearly 300 individuals serving on small crews for an entire year, and were dispersed across Washington State (USA) to participate in conservation projects in rural to urban landscapes. Pre- and post-test surveys, using validated measures of perceived stress, health dimensions, and personal resiliency, were further informed by mid-year, field-based interviews. Overall, the young adults expressed fatigue with the physical work but were quite healthy when compared to national benchmarks. They indicated a reduction in perceived stress, and indicated social function influences based on the conservation work. Conclusions address the importance and implications of expanding this work opportunity to a more diverse cohort and future research needs.     

Structural factors influencing conservation decision-making: a case of species prioritisation in Australia

Prioritisation methods have been adopted for >20 years to inform resource allocation in species conservation. The academic literature on prioritisation focuses on technical matters, with little attention to the socio-political factors affecting the uptake of priorities. We investigated the policy instruments employed to promote uptake, and the structural factors affecting the uptake of priorities, using as our case study a species prioritisation method adopted by the Queensland Government (Australia). We interviewed 79 key informants and analysed policy documents and plans. The Queensland Government relied on ‘information delivery’ as a policy instrument to foster uptake. We identified communication channels to assist ‘information delivery’ between Government and intended users, but also found that several structural factors limited their use: fragmentation of policies, the relative strength of alternative priorities and centralisation of power in decision-making. We discuss the results in relation to other conservation planning initiatives and suggest how structural barriers can be addressed.     

How planners and stakeholders learn with visualization tools: using learning sciences methods to examine planning processes

Planning researchers traditionally conceptualize learning as cognitive changes in individuals. In this tradition, scholars assess learning with pre- and post-measures of understandings or beliefs. While valuable for documenting individual change, such methods leave unexamined the social processes in which planners think, act, and learn in groups, which often involve the use of technical tools. The present interdisciplinary research program used Learning Sciences research methods, including conversation analysis, interaction analysis, and visualization of discourse codes, to understand how tools like agent-based models and geographic information systems mediate learning in planning groups. The objective was to understand how the use of these tools in participatory planning can help stakeholders learn about complex environmental problems, to make more informed judgments about the future. The paper provides three cases that illustrate the capacity of such research methods to provide insights into planning groups’ learning processes, and the mediating roles of planning tools.     

Data Management Dimensions of Social Water Science: The iUTAH Experience

Integrating social and hydrologic sciences for understanding water systems is challenged by data management complexities. Contemporary mandates for open science and data sharing necessitate better understanding of the implications of social science data types. In the context of an interdisciplinary water research program that endeavors to integrate and share social science and biophysical data, we highlight the array of data types and issues associated with social water science. We present a multi‐dimensional classification of social water science data that provides insight into data management considerations for each data type. Recommendations for cyberinfrastructure, planning, and policy are offered.     

Planning for a sustainable Oslo: the challenge of turning urban theory into practice

Many cities today face challenges related to urban growth. This is also the case in Oslo, currently one of the fastest growing capitals in Europe. In order to prepare for the population growth, a new municipal master plan has been prepared. In this, sustainable development is a prominent concept, and the urban district is going to be densified as part of the strategy. This paper examines some obstacles of turning planning theory into practice. There is a lack of coherence between municipal goals and the actual outcome. The analysis indicates that the official strategy is not able to cater for social sustainability partly due to institutional constraints. Moreover, there is no concise understanding of what sustainability means, which in turn hampers the ability to operationalise the concept in urban planning.     

关于构建企业环境守法引导机制框架的思考

当前我国经济发展步入新常态阶段,经济发展速度减慢,部分企业资金缩紧,难免出现逃避监管、偷排漏排等现象。在这种形势下,只有转变对企业的传统监管模式,从单纯的行政执法向行政执法与守法激励相结合模式转变,建立企业环境守法引导机制,才能更好、更快地促进企业自觉调整结构,创新技术,发展绿色产业,从而实现环境效益、经济效益和社会效益共赢。本研究基于环境规制、利益相关者以及企业社会责任等理论基础,提出构建企业环境守法引导机制的基本框架由行政监管、经济激励、企业自律和社会监督等四个方面构成,并分析目前我国企业环境守法引导机制建设存在不完善问题,建议从完善行政监管执法机制、健全经济激励政策、加强企业环保意识培养、完善社会监督机制等方面间接和直接引导企业环境守法。     

雾霾污染、经营绩效与企业环境社会责任

本文采用我国沪深两市2010—2016年A股上市公司数据与哥伦比亚大学社会经济数据和应用中心发布的PM2.5浓度数据,基于固定效应模型研究了雾霾污染对企业环境社会责任履行情况的影响。实证分析结果表明:我国各地市的雾霾污染对企业环境社会责任具有正向影响,即本地雾霾污染越严重,企业承担环境社会责任就越多。进一步的分析发现:雾霾污染会削弱经营绩效对企业环境社会责任履行情况的正向影响,即雾霾污染越严重,经营绩效对企业环境社会责任的正向影响越弱。本文的研究结论不仅揭示了雾霾对企业环境社会责任的正向影响,也揭示了雾霾污染对经营绩效和企业环境责任之间关系的调节影响。该结论对于加强雾霾治理和推动企业良好履行环境社会责任具有积极的作用。     

Foundations of indigenous knowledge on disasters due to natural hazards: lessons from the outlook on floods among the Bayira of the Rwenzori region

The role of indigenous knowledge in increasing context specificity and exposing blind spots in scientific understanding is widely evidenced in disaster studies. This paper aims to structure the processes that shape indigenous knowledge production and its optimisation using the case of floods. An inductive analytical approach is applied among riparian indigenous communities (focus on the Bayira) of the Rwenzori region of Uganda where plenty of indigenous flood practices have been recorded. Indigenous knowledge of floods is found to be based on intimate comprehension of local hydrometeorological regularities. Insofar as these regularities follow natural dynamics, indigenous socio-epistemic processes are noted to be consistent with the laws of nature. Coupled with regular open sociocultural deliberations, the conceptualisation of hydrometeorological regularities induces an indigenous ontology and empiricist epistemology. This, together with the techniques used, is the driver of crucial epistemic virtues which enable indigenous knowledge to provide disaster solutions that are adapted, pragmatic, and holistic.     

About bridges and bonds: community responses to the 2000 floods in Mabalane district, Mozambique

Massive floods hit Mozambique in 2000.1 Many of the affected regions benefited from external aid. This paper investigates how the floods impacted on two communities in the interior of the Limpopo Valley, which did not receive significant assistance during the event and in the immediate aftermath. Drawing on the livelihood approach, it focuses on the role of two types of local resources: knowledge and social capital. The paper shows that the scale of the 2000 floods surpassed the response capacity of these resources and looks at how wealth and gender influenced access by households to the local support mechanisms that enhance survival and recovery. It appears that the floods mainly affected wealthier households, as these more frequently lost houses and cattle. The paper points to the importance of ploughs and cattle for local support mechanisms, which, in turn, most likely reduced the capacities of communities to recover from the disaster.