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Foucault's account of the emergence of biopolitics in the late 18th century helps frame the political economy of 'improvements' as an environmental project linked to the well-being of the population. Since the 1970s, biopolitical concerns have shifted towards non-human populations and the reproduction of natural resources and ecosystems. This has become evident in the European fisheries, where after decades of exploitation greatly intensified since the 1960s, the extractive demands of the fishing industry have caught up with the reproductive capacities of most commercially targeted fish stocks. This contradiction has given rise to a new political economy of 'improvements' that seeks to sustain the biological health of commercially targeted fish populations while maintaining an economically profitable fishing industry. Central to this transition is the active role that fishers are expected to play in sustainably managing the fish stocks they exploit while adapting to 'green' market opportunities. Tradeable quota systems, eco-accreditation schemes and community-based resource management have all emerged as managerial strategies for inciting the active participation of fishers in this 'common' project of sustainable development. Drawing on Foucault's perspective of governmentality, this paper argues that these strategies represent distinct but overlapping apparatuses of neoliberal governmentality that are representative of broader tendencies within environmental governance today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, much has been written about consumers' co-responsibility for addressing environmental problems, with consumers expected to steer or regulate their consumption in an instrumental way. By drawing on data from in-depth interviews with green consumers in urban Ireland, this article examines how green consumers engage with environmental issues at an everyday level. The article considers green consumption through the theoretical lens of reflexive modernization, particularly its relevance to self-identity. We argue that although green consumption is important to the maintenance and constitution of a green subjectivity, it must be understood within the context of a process of increasing individualization, where individuals feel both responsible and empowered in dealing with environmental risks to both the wider global planet and themselves. However, such feelings are accompanied by doubts and insecurities about the choices to be made, crating a rather dichotomous situation. This challenges the idea that green consumption as some form of politics of choice can unambiguously form part of a strategy for environmental reform as it does not adequately address the fundamental dilemmas that people face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was anticipated that the arrival of the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 would put a new ecological imprint upon Ireland's beleaguered system of environmental regulation. While the formation of the agency can be clearly traced to an upsurge in environmental protest in the 1980s, this article argues that our understanding of its origins is enhanced by an examination of the (historical) interaction between the Irish and UK regulatory systems. In adopting an extended time-frame the article focuses on an area of policy learning that heretofore has received little attention but which has proven formative in the evolution of Irish environmental policy: institutional memory. As such, two (inter-related) arguments emerge. First, that much of Ireland's ‘new’ regulatory framework (heavily influenced by the United Kingdom) displays rather more in the way of continuity than change. Secondly, that this tends to cast a shadow over one of the central (albeit very often implicit) themes of ecological modernisation: that policy development follows a linear form, one based upon a rejection of the principles of the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically examines oral hearings conducted by the Irish state Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on proposed industrial developments in Clare and Limerick. Data comes from participant observation at two hearings, and documentary analysis of submissions. The hypothesis that the oral hearing can be formulated as an example of 'reflexive modernization' (as in Beck) is tested against the standard of ideal speech proferred by Habermas. The evidence suggests that the institution of the EPA Public Hearing is best understood as an instance of systematically distorted communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mullaghmore dispute was part of a wider upsurge in environmental concern across Ireland. This reply argues that McGrath fails to examine the changing nature of the environmental arena and suggests that this arena can only be understood by considering the strategies of actors such as the industrial and agricultural policy communities, who have played a critical role in organising new forms of consent on what is an acceptable level of Irish environmental regulation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]