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ABSTRACT This paper examines the impact of foreign direct investments on environment degradation in the SIDS group by using a sample of six small island developing states for the time [...]

This essay explores the utopian political possibilities of the ecological disaster novel through a reading of Kim Stanley Robinson's Science in the Capital trilogy (2005-2007). Robinson's trilogy offers a crucial intervention into visions of ecological catastrophe by formally negotiating between the conceptual categories of 'disaster,' 'crisis,' and 'event' in a way that leaves liberal reformist solutions untenable while at the same time refusing ahistorical and anti-dialectical fantasies in which disaster becomes the magical solution that will automatically create change. This essay claims that the cultural form it names the 'realist critical dystopia' best captures this utopian dynamic., Representations of environmental disaster or catastrophe loom large within contemporary U.S. and global cultural production--no longer limited to mass cultural genres like the post-apocalyptic action film or the disaster sf [...]

A multitude of factors is promoting rapid road expansion globally, including a quest for valuable resources such as timber, minerals, oil and arable land, and initiatives to increase regional trade, [...], The number and extent of roads will expand dramatically this century (1). Globally, at least 25 million kilometres of new roads are anticipated by 2050; a 60% increase in the total length of roads over that in 2010. Nine-tenths of all road construction is expected to occur in developing nations (1), including many regions that sustain exceptional biodiversity and vital ecosystem services. Roads penetrating into wilderness or frontier areas are a major proximate driver of habitat loss and fragmentation, wildfires, overhunting and other environmental degradation, often with irreversible impacts on ecosystems (2-5). Unfortunately, much road proliferation is chaotic or poorly planned (3,4,6), and the rate of expansion is so great that it often overwhelms the capacity of environmental planners and managers (2-7). Here we present a global scheme for prioritizing road building. This large-scale zoning plan seeks to limit the environmental costs of road expansion while maximizing its benefits for human development, by helping to increase agricultural production, which is an urgent priority given that global food demand could double by mid-century (8,9). Our analysis identifies areas with high environmental values where future road building should be avoided if possible, areas where strategic road improvements could promote agricultural development with relatively modest environmental costs, and 'conflict areas' where road building could have sizeable benefits for agriculture but with serious environmental damage. Our plan provides a template for proactively zoning and prioritizing roads during the most explosive era of road expansion in human history.

While the link between natural resource dependence and internal conflict has been approached from a variety of angles in a large and growing interdisciplinary literature, the feasibility-discontent dichotomy still frames a fluid research agenda in both economics and political science. This article attempts to help bridge the gap by allowing for both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of potential rebels. Simple non-cooperative bargaining yields a nonlinear impact of regulatory quality on the likelihood of conflict and shows that corruption and resource depletion jointly affect the outcome. The empirical analysis that follows looks at the effect of environmental depletion and government corruption on the emergence of civil conflicts using a large panel data set. Resource depletion, the quality of governance, and their interaction are found to be significant determinants of civil conflict incidence. Results are robust to model and specification as well as to several steps taken to address potential endogeneity concerns. JEL Classification: Q27, Q56, D74, H56, 1. Introduction Resource-related violence is an important worldwide phenomenon. The stakes are significant, and there are both renewable and non-renewable resources involved. According to estimates, more than one in five [...]

Although healthy societies may require a degree of material inequality, higher levels of inequality have been linked to negative social consequences ranging from poorer health to lessened democracy. However, the greatest contemporary threat of excessive inequality might be its contribution to increased environmental degradation. This article explores the manner in which inequality augments consumption, by drawing upon Thorstein Veblen's theory of consumer behavior whereby in societies in which fluid social mobility is believed possible, inequality encourages households to seek social certification through consumption. The ideology, institutions, and behavior generated by this focus on consumption reduce the potential for people to achieve certification of value through more environmentally friendly domains such as work and community. This article also addresses the manner in which inequality impedes responses aimed at reducing environmental damage by augmenting the political power of those whose interests would be most harmed by measures to protect the environment. Keywords: community, conspicuous consumption, ideology, social status, work quality JEL Classification Codes: B15, P16, Q50, An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics. --Plutarch c. 46 A.D.-127A.D.; source unknown It is commonly lamented that households in wealthy [...]

DR SEUSS First published by Random House: 1971. Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr Seuss, wrote more than 40 children's books, beloved for their zany rhymes and sinuous illustrations. [...]