Pecologix Political Ecology Blotter

This paper investigates the relationship between emissions of carbon dioxide and the ongoing process of demographic transition in OECD countries. Our research is motivated by suggestions in the literature that emission-relevant consumption patterns may depend on the position in the life cycle and on the birth cohort to which people belong. We augment standard macroeconomic [...]

A case study of Denver, Colorado explores the roles of three social actors—individual users, infrastructure designer-operators, and policy actors—in near-term greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation in U.S. cities. Energy efficiency, renewable energy, urban design, price- and behavioral-feedback strategies are evaluated across buildings–facilities, transportation, and materials/waste sectors in cities, comparing voluntary versus regulatory action configurations. GHG mitigation [...]

► Migration theory can advance understanding of the destinations of current environmental mobility. ► There is little evidence to support claims of mass environmental migration to the global north. ► Forced or voluntary immobility in environmentally vulnerable areas may be a serious problem. ► Many environmental moves will be by individuals and not whole households. [...]

Drawing on an increasing evidence base that has assessed elements of the influence of the environment on migration, this paper presents a new framework for understanding the effect of environmental change on migration. The framework identifies five families of drivers which affect migration decisions: economic, political, social, demographic and environmental drivers. The environment drives migration [...]

The PBS series from 2009 entitled ‘Becoming Human’ traces the paleohistory of human evolution. One of the segments introduces a hypothesis that is a big, fat hanging curve ball for a Pecologix rumination. In the words of its progenitor Dr. Rick Potts (anthropologist), the climate variability hypo states that: “Maybe this [the 700K years of [...]

Modern humans migrated into Eurasia about 40,000 years ago and rapidly replaced the existing Neandertal populations, driving them to extinction. Genetic data imply that one reason modern humans were so successful is that their populations were greater—although better tools and different social structures also may have been important. Researchers analyzed the archaeological records in one [...]

Migration has become a key component in the livelihood strategies of an increasing number of households across the developing world and remittances have expanded dramatically in the last decade. This has come at a time when an increased emphasis has been placed on reducing malnutrition to achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. While this is [...]