Socioecology Research Today

The Supreme Court’s recently issued Tarrant v. Hermann decision presents an interesting case study of river withdrawal rights, a body of law that will probably be getting more attention both domestically and internationally as hydrology patterns and population demands fluctuate in the future. I will not discuss the facts of the case as these are [...]

Stratospheric ozone loss is on course to become a solved environmental problem, with all significant producing countries (including China and India) undertaking complete phase-outs of ozone-depleting substances. The universal concurrence and speed with which ozone loss has been addressed are sometimes heralded as signs that effective international agreements on other problems of the global commons [...]

Earlier this year, industry group the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) published a Disruptive Challenges report outlining the risks to the financial well-being of utilities from distributed energy. It recommends a push to reexamine policies that create incentives for renewable energy, particularly net metering, and advocating pricing changes that ensure utilities can recover the cost of [...]

One of the prominent features of contemporary society is an increased anxiety over risks. The potentially adverse effects of industrial development and technological innovation are the subject of widespread social concern, leading to a surge in the number of ‘risk disputes’ that involve novel technologies and projected environmental catastrophes. These ‘risk disputes’ are taking place [...]

In a report released yesterday, the Bar Association makes these proposals related to environmental issues in New York City: II. INFRASTRUCTURE, THE ENVIRONMENT AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11 A. Continue to Pursue an Ambitious Environmental Agenda ……………………………. 11 1. Continue to Advocate for Municipal, National and Global Action on Climate Change …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12 2. Encourage [...]

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the largest known remaining anthropogenic threat to the stratospheric ozone layer. However, it is currently only regulated under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol because of its simultaneous ability to warm the climate. The threat N2O poses to the stratospheric ozone layer, coupled with the uncertain future of the international climate regime, motivates [...]

Polymetallic nodules form over thousands of years on the sea floor, through processes that are still not fully understood; most nodules range in size from the diameter of a golf ball to that of a large potato. Between the 1960s and the 1980s, various companies explored the possibility of harvesting them — but as metal [...]

An important task of contemporary academic research is the design of policy that promotes a sustainable energy transition. Dangerman and Schnellnhuber (1) (D&S hereafter) explain theoretically, and show empirically, that it is very difficult to move away from unsustainable technologies. The role of investment funds that go disproportionally to dominant, pollutive technologies is emphasized. The [...]

Global environmental governance is widely regarded as suffering from process- and outcome-related shortcomings, above all problems with transparency, representation, and problem-solving capacity. These problems, whether presumed or real, have negative implications for popular legitimacy of (i.e., public support for) global environmental governance. One of the most frequently proposed remedies, in this context, is greater involvement [...]

In India, presently thermal power plants produce 118 million tons of coal ash per year, which is projected to exceed 440 million tons per annum by 2030. This huge quantity of coal ash not only being of tremendous environmental concerns but also occupies large areas of land for its dumping, which needs urgent and appropriate [...]