ESGH midterm

Main things to know about Cooper and Packard:

1. Development was "a framing device" through which colonial regimes tried to "respond to challenges and reassert control and legitimacy." 2. Development" wasn't a singular project; it was full of debate and contestation. But some ideas became more "hegemonic"/"sticky" with the backing of powerful institutions, like the World Bank: Modernization theory, which held that the Third World was "backward" and needed to "catch-up" to the west through European intervention and the creation of a "new modern person"; economics, which rewards those who work at "a high level of abstraction" and was favored by development practitioners; neo-Malthusianism, which puts the blame for environmental problems on the poor, not on colonialism or gender inequality. 3. Development is not simply about practices and policies, but it is also a "knowledge apparatus". Since knowledge wields power, we have to "study up" (wealthy donors, wonks (!), academics, consultants, international development institutions, economists) and not just research the poor and vulnerable.

Define and provide one example of the market response model (MRM).

A model that preidcts economic responses to scarcity of a resource will lead to increases in prices that will result either in decreased demand for that resource or increased supply, or both EX: Increasing scarcity of NG natural gas = increase in NG prices - (Counterclockwise around MRM) NG producers find new sources of NG via fracking - (Clockwise around MRM) Electricity generators burn NG more efficiently and/or switch to alternatives, like wind, made more attractive by: -- attractive government subsidies for wind energy -- decreasing manufacturing cost of wind turbines

What is neoliberalism?

A political approach that favours free-market capitalism, deregulation, and reduction in government spending

Main things to know about Finney:

Although the environmental movement's expressed desire is to engage a broad and diverse constituency, Black voices are often ignored and overlooked. The environment is racialized, and that affects other sectors of life too. Whiteness has become the way of understanding our environment, which shows from the assumption that environmentalism and the meanings we attribute to the environment are grounded in history, race, gender, and culture. Representations and racialization inform the way we approach the 'business,' the 'science,' and the 'conservation' of the natural world. --> Black people have a conflictual relationship with the environment, but we don't know much about these relationships because of dominant forms of environmentalism/environmental knowledge Past generational trauma and memories of slavery and Jim Crow have made some Black people fearful of the outdoors - Led to constrained mobility through the great outdoors - Doesn't mean that Black communities aren't environmental actors - They still have agency and nuanced history

What does it mean to say, as Sasser does, that population control has a "racialized" and "gendered" history? What are some other criticisms of forced population control?

American environmentalist narratives and advocacy strategies on global population growth act as a discursive marker of differences in bodies and also as an influence on international development messaging and policy strategy that often goes unacknowledged - Discussions about population growth are typically targeted to the Global South—even though their lifestyles do not involve as much consumption—solely because of the population growth of people with darker skin being seen as a "threat" - Highly gendered because many discussions around population growth call upon women to make better decisions and not reproduce, which is not valid and ignores the societal conditions under which women have many kids. These covnersations turn the reproductive bodies into a site of control. Criticisms of forced population control: racialized, gendered, serves as a basis for international policy and program interventions, tied to class as poor people's bodies are highly monitored, this is a tool of environmental privilege, makes women of the Global South out to be someone to 'save,'

What were Jim Crow Laws?

An array of racist social etiquette, social distancing, and segregationist laws that reinforced the inferiority of Black people in southern society Laws and codes that prevented Black people from accessing train coaches, buses, water fountains, schools, restrooms, parks, beaches, libraries, restaurants on the same terms as whites; effectively segregated public space on the basis of race Provided impunity to white police, white racial terror (KKK), and voter suppression and intimidation tactics

Main things to know about Klein:

Argument: Adopting the model of financing has made green project ineffective as climate responses—the pollution is just taking place elsewhere—which means that the cap-and-trade bills under consideration that did not pass in the U.S. were not a loss. Theory: Big Green has mixed with Big Oil, using a defeatist logic of "if you can't beat them, join them." Green capitalism under these cap-and-trade policies and emissions markets is still capitalism. Green movements need to be supported by mass movement applying pressure from below, holding them accountable. Evidence: case study of the Nature Conservancy started to extract fossil fuels on its preserve with the help of Mobil—the prairie chickens are so endangered, and the gas pipelines caused the bird release to lead to all of the birds dying. The birds eventually disappeared from the preserve altogether. It's not just Nature Conservancy. Many organizations are listed, and oil companies have members who sit on their board of directors, give money. (Also provides a history on environmental law/protection and dynamics)

What are some of the dangers of the marriage between "big green" and "big money" according to Naomi Klein?

Big Green has mixed with Big Oil, using a defeatist logic of "if you can't beat them, join them." Green capitalism under these cap-and-trade policies and emissions markets is still capitalism. Green movements need to be supported by mass movement applying pressure from below, holding them accountable, but this does not happen when big green and big money mix. As a result of their mixing, climate change was presented as a narrow technical problem with no end of profitable solutions within the market system; these market systems don't actually achieve the change necessary nor is it justice and change. Advocacy and activists = pushed to the sideline, well-paid lawyers are not in the center of it (She follows the money)

Discuss the role of scarcity in the bioenvironmentalist versus the market liberal worldview.

Bioenvironmentalists: scarcity will result from the biological limits of the earth to support life—overfishing, deforestation, species loss, and unstable weather cause scarcity, which is often tied back to population Market liberals: scarcity drives technology/innovation

How would a biomedical vs. biosocial explanation of diseases look different? Using the example of type 2 diabetes

Biomedical: focuses on disease pathology (proximate causation) - Type 2 Diabetes is caused by the body's inability to produce/react to insulin, resulting in poor sugar breakdown and high blood sugar levels. Caused by obesity, poor diet, and/or family history of Diabetes Biosocial: focuses on social causes of disease (ultimate causation) - Type 2 Diabetes is on the rise in "food deserts", or low-income, racially segregated areas without access to healthy food options. In these areas, young people rely on highly processed/high sugar foods, which are also marketed to them. Caused by economic, racial, and spatial inequality as well as the political economy of media

"Cap and trade" is an important example of a market-based policy in which industries buy and sell the right to pollute. What are other examples of market-based policies? In which pollutant did we see the most success with cap and trade and why?

Cap and trade: a market-based system to manage environmental pollutants where a total limit is placed on all emissions in a jurisdiction, and individual people or firms possess transferable shares of that total, theoretically leading to the most efficient overall system to maintain and reduce pollution levels overall - Most successful with SOx and acid rain -- Each utility faced with a cap on its total SO2 emissions set by the EPA -- Flexibility to meet that emissions cap however they want -- If utility's emissions are < SO2 cap, it can sell its left over right to pollute ("emissions permits") -- If utility's emissions > SO2 cap, it can buy more emissions permits Other market-based policies: - Green taxes, increases prices to drive providers to search for new sources, innovators to substitute, consumers to conserve and alternatives to emerge - Green consumption, consumers should vote with their money and buy green, often at a premium of course

The Coase Theorem is useful for the management of environmental externalities. Define externality. Why does the Coase Theorem not always work in practice? Provide an example of why it doesn't always work in practice.

Coase Theorem: holds that externalities can be most efficiently controlled through contracts and bargaining between parties, assuming the transaction costs of reaching a bargain are not excessive Externality: an indirect cost or benefit to an uninvolved third party that arises as an effect of another party's activity Why Coase may not work: - Property rights are ill-defined (how do you enforce a contract for groundwater that knows no borders?) - Transaction costs are NEVER free (some people can afford to pay big bucks for lawyers) - Unequal access to information - Ex.: Coase and CO2 emissions, hard to define the property rights of them

How do we regulate externalities?

Coase theorem Slide with the arrow has a lot about this Command and control regulation because coase theorem fails Clean air/water acts

Define colonialism. What legacies have colonialism had on the environment?

Colonialism: The subjugation of one culture by another by physical and psychological force, the military and economic conquest of territory and resources, and the stereotyping of the relationship between the colonizer and colonized in order to justify subjugation. - In ruler colonialism, the logic is to subjugate the native by rule and resource extraction (rather than elimination/erasure) - Settler colonialism - Logic is to subjugate the native by elimination/erasure (i.e. by genocide) Colonial economic policies: Closed Loop Trade" - Colonies generally served as sources of raw materials and natural resources ("primary commodities") for Europe - Colonial powers had the technological capability to transform raw materials into industrially-produced "manufactured goods" - Colonies forced to export cheap raw materials (e.g. cotton) and import expensive industrial goods (e.g. textiles) from Europe - This pattern of "uneven terms of trade" continued well past the official end of colonialism

How does the Turkey Creek documentary challenge the neat separation between "conservationists" and "preservationists" as given by mainstream environmental ethics?

Conservationist: nature for human's use, human-centric conserving of land Preservationist: no humans allowed, nature for nature's sake Turkey Creek challenges the binary between these two labels as people are preserving the land via conserving it for the people who have been there historically and been the stewards preserving from companies 1. Preserving from the companies to conserve it for themselves 2. Preserve creek and wetlands while conserving in a way to ensure their communities have access to it 3. Restore the pride, collective memory: human centric 4. Restore the land and creek: nature centric Guha's article challenged this too - Indigenous people are stewards in the sense that they have a long-term relationship with the use and preservation of the resources

What do Cooper and Packard mean when they say that development became a new framing device during the waning years of colonialism?

Cooper and Packard talk about how development was a framing device in order to respond to challenges to colonialism. Development was conceptualized in a way which excused colonialism and the infiltration in "Third World Countries" under the guise that they need to be "civilized" or "modernized" .... Developed, one could say. One of such "challenges to colonialism" is the Bandung Conference of 1955.

What is Guha's critique of binary American environmental ethics, and especially what he calls "radical American environmentalism," namely deep ecology/ecocentrism? and how does Guha's critique resonate with other viewpoints we've read?

Deep ecologist's interpretations of Eastern traditions is highly selective, and that in other cultural contexts radical environmentalism manifests itself quite differently—a far greater emphasis on equity and the integration of ecological concerns with livelihood and work. Despite its claims to universality, deep ecology is firmly rooted in American environmental and cultural history and is inappropriate when applied to the Third World. There is an appropriation of Eastern traditions that is in part dictated by the need to construct an authentic lineage and in part a desire to present deep ecology as a universalistic philosophy. Deep ecology runs parallel to the consumer society without seriously question ing its ecological and socio-political basis. Consumption of Global North, militarism = social greens mindset - Radical environmentalism/deep ecology take the lens away from systemic analysis from why environmental destruction occurs - Naomi Klein, Bryant → look at root causes

What is discourse? What was the role of othering discourse in colonial medicine?

Discourse = verbal communication of an idea, treatment of a subject in speech or writing Discourse in colonial medicine painted non-white people as beasts or sites of infestation of disease→almost like a danger to white people Black and Brown bodies in the colonies were described as being both "hardier"—capable of withstanding brutal labor regimes—as well as more "disease/vector" prone and thus the subject of colonial surveillance/testing/segregation → "Diseased native" trope These discourses shaped how colonial and missionary and tropical medicine approached topics (ex.: slum demolition and forced vaccinations bc of discourses that used "overcrowded" and "filthy")

What are the differences between political ecology and environmental justice?

Environmental justice = rooted in activist history, civil rigths history Hacen't had a good track record of looking at political ecology More focused on direct action Political ecology = rooted in academic marxism, marxism in the environmental ecology More ivory tower, may miss activist stuff

What are some broad differences and similarities between environmental justice and political ecology as scholarly fields?

Environmental justice is community based activism and political ecology is academic and much more politically focused with academic marxism

Define environmental racism and environmental justice.

Environmental racism: racial discrimination in environmental policy-making and enforcement of regulations and the laws, the deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic waste facilities, the official sanctioning of the presence of life threatening poisons and pollutants for communities of color, and the history of excluding people of color from leadership of the environmental movement Environmental justice: the equal treatment and involvement of all people in environmental decision making - Inspired by the Civil Rights movement - Became widespread in the 1980s at the intersection of environmentalism and social justice - Experienced through heightened exposure to pollution and corresponding health risks, limited access to adequate environmental services, and loss of land and resource rights

What does it mean to say that population is an effect rather than a cause of environmental degradation?

Essentially recognizes the greater history of the globe→a lot of colonialism's lasting effects have meant that Global South is now going through a population boom (when colonizers went through this centuries ago) "Is population a social driver of environmental change or is it actually the product or outcome of social and environmental circumstances and conditions?" European colonialism impoverished peoples of the global South, their economies, their soil, and their environments, leading to high fertility rates historically. But these are dropping now Women's rights are the need of the hour (everywhere), not population control (neo-Malthusianism) nor abortion control (religious fundamentalism)

Using the example of the Panama Canal, explain the birth of international health.

French then US canal, lock system, v expensive, after 33 years the canal claimed the lives of many, 2 nations (France and US) responsible for the construction, but eventually given over to Panama. This example shows how the these Western Countries were motivated by the benefits of the Panama Canal and therefore the birth of these organizations around the same time proved what the incentives were... money and trade rather than actually just wanting to cure diseases and yknow stop pain and suffering. International Health Bureaucracies - The early 1900s saw the establishment of large international health organizations that institutionalized and bureaucratizedtropical medicine -- Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) - These international health bureaucracies were motivated by commerce and colonial trade - They focused on eradicating single diseases and single vectors, using coercive approaches to eradicate diseases, especially if the disease stood in the way of colonial capitalism - ""To succeed in this project, the Americans had to accomplish what the French had not: keeping the workforce healthy." -Greene, p. 53

Main things to know about political ecology of health:

Health is structured by political and economic systems that influence the transmission of disease and the ability of health care agencies to effectively respond, and biophysical processes are important in creating the conditions that influence the spread of infectious disease or exposure to non-infectious disease. Political ecology offers a needed framework for understanding how these social and environmental systems intersect to shape health across spatial and temporal scales. Political ecology has demonstrated a commitment to mixed methods and multiscalar analysis that would illustrate how health is embedded within social networks that increase vulnerability to disease and shape health decision-making, which helps to uncover social and environmental narratives that challenge representations produced by powerful institutions. Applying political ecology to health would generate new insights into the political economy of disease, interrogate health discourses produced by actors and institutions, and show how health is shaped through the relationships between social and environmental system. Its focus upon the interactions between social and environmental systems is needed to understand how families respond to disease over time, and how these systems in turn shape disease management and the opportunities for healthy decision-making

What underlying logic do you identify in the syllabus and what is the pedagogical purpose of this logic?

IDK

What is the difference between an impact analysis (also called risk by Ribot) and a vulnerability analysis? [Hint: think impacts = what and vulnerability = why/how/who]

Impact analysis (also known as risk-hazard approach) -Total magnitude of damage Social vulnerability analysis -Instead of asking "what" questions, you ask "why" and "how" questions" -The distribution of damage across social variables such as race, class, gender, etc. - Why was the death toll so high? Why was property damage so high? What makes people so vulnerable? - Considers underlying historical, social, and political-economic causes—i.e. "ultimate causation", such as poor infrastructure, poor housing construction, poor health facilities, and segregation/social isolation, etc—that make some people and some areas more vulnerable

According to Naomi Klein, what role did President Reagan play in federal environmental policy? How did the political economy shift in the 1980s?

Klein: the success of the environmental movement at first changed the goal from organizing and teach-ins to lobbying and policies with lawyers, embolden by Reagan in the 1980s. - Environmental laws became "command and control environmentalism" (204), and the core beliefs of the movement were tossed aside—business were not to be criticized - Environmentalism was seen as like authoritarian

Describe the major political-economic shifts in the development project over the 20th century. Despite these shifts, what were some examples of "sticky" thinking that prevailed across these eras, as discussed in Packard and in our lectures?

Left economists influenced by Marxist structuralism from Latin America ("Dependistas") believed that the state had an important role to play in welfare, industries, healthcare, banking, education, etc. -Advocated for state-led, socialist development and nationalization of industries to reduce economic dependence on Europe and North America -Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) or protectionist trade policies (opposite of free trade) were embraced by Latin American (and other Third World) countries Development wasn't a singular project; it was full of debate and contestation. But some ideas became more "hegemonic"/"sticky" with the backing of powerful institutions, like the World Bank: -Modernization theory, which held that the Third World was "backward" and needed to "catch-up" to the west through European intervention and the creation of a "new modern person" -Economics - in general, economics doesn't deal with messy questions of power, culture, and history. Economics rewards those who work at "a high level of abstraction" and was favored by development practitioners p. 33 -Neo-Malthusianism - puts the blame for environmental problems on the poor, not on colonialism or gender inequality Major anti-communist sentiments, hence the introduction of the Marshall plan Birth of Bretton Woods Institutions - IMF, World Bank, etc. - International organizations and national governments engaged in top-down agricultural and infrastructure projects around the world influenced by modernization theory -- E.g. Green Revolution -- Big dams built around the world -- Neo-Malthusianism

According to Karl Marx, what are the 2 main problems of and 2 main contradictions of capitalism?

Main problems: 1. to accumulate capital (make a profit), labor is exploited; capitalists don't pay workers enough because they want to squeeze as much "surplus value" (profit) as possible 2. capitalism must constantly expand to survive: "Treadmill of production" Contradictions: 1. capitalism is prone to the crisis of overaccumulation - too much profit-seeking without checks and balances leads to "over-accumulation" and workers being squeezed for wages, which leads to economic crisis, e.g. the Great Depression 2. capitalism gradually destroys the very natural resources and human labor it depends on - Marx called this the "metabolic rift" - the more severely you exploit the land (or workforce), the less able the land (or workforce) will be able to sustain production over the long run, again leading to crisis

Compare and contrast different theories on population, from Malthus, to IPAT scientists, to NeoMalthusianism, to gender-focused social scientists.

Malthus: population = one of the biggest causes of environmental degradation - Food supply grows at an arithmetic (linear) rate whereas population grows at a geometric or (exponential) rate - Disregarded consumption and the role of technology --Assumed everyone consumes the same and that technology wouldn't improve -Poor women, if they have access to education and employment opportunities and autonomy over their bodies, want to have fewer children IPAT: impact (environmental degradation) = population * affluence (consumption) * technology - Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren (1974) seek to measure the impact of human beings on the environment, taking seriously overall rate and type of consumption of people -- Proposed that every additional person added an impact on Earth, and the impact was influenced by other factors Neomalthusianism: similar beliefs that population should be controlled and is important when considering environmental impacts - IPAT has been used by neo-Malthusians to argue that population is the paramount factor in this equation - Paul Ehrlich extended neo-Malthusian arguments to identify populations and specifically bodies as environmentally dangerous - Puts the blame for environmental problems on the poor, not on colonialism or gender inequality

What were the different iterations of colonial medicine?

Medicine took on survival mission and a civilizing mission: - the "tropics" became a laboratory for testing out medical science so that Europeans and native labor forces could continue to generate colonial wealth - Black and Brown bodies in the colonies were described as being both "hardier"--capable of withstanding brutal labor regimes--as well as more "disease/vector" prone and thus the subject of colonial surveillance/testing/segregation - "Diseased native" trope

What is political economy?

Most broadly, political economy refers to the relationship between the state, politics, and the economy: how wealth is distributed in society and why, how government policies shape business and societal outcomes, and vice-versa how economic and business interests shape government policies "Political economic analysis" asks questions like: How are resources, land, and wealth distributed? Who profits the most for a policy decision? Who frames the narrative? Who makes the decisions at whose expense?

What does Newell mean by "capitalism is nothing if not resilient" (Newell, p. 23)? What role does globalization play in the "resilience" of capitalism?

Newell means that there are multiple ways capitalism can overcome its limitations (aka it doesn't die) and globalization is one of the main "solutions" to capitalism since expansion is the way to remedy the ailments of capitalism.

Elinor Ostrom provided the most sustained critique of Hardin to date. What was her critique? In the article we read, however, she and her colleagues argue that global commons management (esp. climate change) is particularly challenging. Why? [Hint: think of a few of her 7 rules of successful commons management—why do they NOT work for things like climate change?]

Ostrom's critique: - Elinor Ostrom began to critically analyze the assumptions of ToC with asking when the players of a game can collude together or negotiate, they are far more likely to cooperate - Found countless examples of complex systems for management of difficult-to-enclose resources that relied neither upon some form of tyrannical enforcement authority nor upon the assignment of exclusive private property rights to the resources in question - Believes Hardin didn't consider the role of institutions, or consider how people can collaborate and cooperate to manage shared commons and prevent ruin Ostrom's Rules for Successful Commons Management - Boundaries: The group and the boundaries of their resources are clearly defined - Monitoring: A system for monitoring members' behavior exists - Sanctions: A system of punishment is used on violators - Conflict resolution: Community members have access to low-cost ways to resolve conflicts - Collective Choice: Most individuals affected by these rules can participate in modifying the rules - Autonomy: The rights of community members to devise their own rules is respected by external authorities Global climate commons management is difficult because - Has all the qualities of a common property system headed for failure: exclusion is difficult and costs to defer depletion of the collective good can be high to individuals, firms, or states - The possibilities for collective action exist, but it is hard to monitor who is doing what - Sanctions are difficult to impose - The presence of collective choice systems for setting and revising the rules is also made unclear

Using the examples of Haiti and Rwanda, how specifically did Partners in Health help to remove some of the barriers to healthcare? In what ways is a deep understanding of the history of colonialism, conflict, and disaster helpful here?

PIH gave people the opportunity to access healthcare and having access to things like check ups enabled them to seek medical care (they solved access to medical care i guess?) This is important because looking at places like Haiti, that were victims of colonialism and post colonial oppression, they have had systemic issues with access to healthcare within the country, so a program like this circumnavigates these barriers.

How we define a problem (and its causality) has a bearing on how we act and try to solve that problem. Why/how are particular framings and ideologies "sticky" to use Packard's term? Why, for instance, might it be strategic for organizations to frame problems in terms of overpopulation? Why is modernization theory so sticky?

Particular framings and ideologies are viewed as "sticky" since they are hegemonizing frameworks that are rapidly accepted in society. It would be strategic for organizations to frame problems in terms of overpopulation for instance in order to lessen the blame on industries that may have a direct effect on environmental degradation. The argument of overpopulation puts the blame on the consumers and the existence of all people rather than on the industries.

Political ecology is a field of study that historical, multi-scalar (i.e. from global to local), and political-economic chains of explanation. It looks at both macro and micro power relations. What does it argue against and why according to Bryant?

Poliltical Ecology argues against mainstream environmentalism. It focuses on more ultimate causations rather than proximate causations. Looking at historical contexts, colonialism, etc. (it is mentioned earlier in this doc...)

Why do you think political ecologists of health/disease and public health professionals don't really talk to each other?

Political ecologists are more academic, focused on structural issues Public health officials = immediate issues to address as practicioners - Human health symptom trainings Don't even think the same language

What is structural adjustment?

Programs that we given to countries struggling with money to solve the debt crisis—acted as a form of financial control because the World Bank/IMF would only help if the receiving countries did what they want, such as... - Fiscal austerity (= reduce public spending) - Financial deregulation - Trade liberalization - i.e. opening of developing country markets to trade - Privatization of public services = Roll back of welfare

What is the difference between racist intent and disparate outcomes? How is the latter related to structural or institutional racism?

Racist intent implies that an action was meant to harm a certain racial group, while disparate outcomes are negative effects on a certain racial group that happen as a result of an action without intention. Disparate outcomes are usually an outcome of structural and institutional racism because these systems have forced non-white people into the same situations that are all disproportionately affected by certain actions.

Main things to know about Bryant:

Researchers should adopt a political ecology perspective to ensure that research addresses the political and economic issues that underlie the Third World's environmental problems. Mainstream environmental research, though, in the third world has hit an impasse. This impasse reflects the unwillingness of mainstream scholars to ask difficult questions about the ways in which the Third World's environmental problems are linked to elite interests and activities that perpetuate the political and economic status quo. To overcome this impasse, we should look toward Third World political ecology's focus on the impact of political and economic forces and unequal power dynamics on people and environments so that we prioritize social justice and equity. This political ecology has the possible for transformative action composed of two themes: the need for continued public exposure and criticism of the ways in which powerful actors benefit disproportionately from environmental degradation; and encouraging grassroots actors to develop alternative environmental management practices premised on socially just and sustainable livelihoods

Define sharecropping.

Sharecropping is a type of farming in which families rent small plots of land from a landowner in return for a portion of their crop, to be given to the landowner at the end of each year With the southern economy in disarray after the abolition of slavery and the devastation of the Civil War, sharecropping enabled landowners to reestablish a labor force, while giving poor whites and freed Black people a means of subsistence

What is the role of collective memory in African American encounters with wilderness and the outdoors according to Finney?

Slavery and the Jim Crow era affected Black people's relationship with the environment, and they continue to inform Black people's environmental participation today. Environmental narratives have historically privileged white people, but Black people can negotiate these narratives by inserting their own stories, their collective memory. The exclusion or marginalization of Black stories in the management of green spaces denies environmental institutions and organizations the ability to understand how diverse environmental practices are influenced by individual and collective memories experienced by Black people. Preserving the past is a way for Black people to say "we were there," which means more control and power in deciding who they were and who they are. - Finney deploys the concept of "collective memory" to assess how people's cognitive maps of the past are used to orient their behavior in the present

What is the spatial fix? How is the global trade in e-waste an example of the spatial fix?

Spatial fix = capitalism's insatiable drive to resolve its inner crisis tendencies by geographical expansion and restructuring→essentially globally expanding to push issues elsewhere Developed countries send their e-waste to developing countries as a way to get rid of their own waste. This essentially brings another player in the game which may count as "geographical expansion".

Why did the idea of sustainable development emerge when it emerged, i.e. at the end of the 1980s? And what kind of thinking did it represent?

Sustainable development emerged at the end of the 1980's because this is the introduction of neoliberalism and this is the whole debt-relief era. Reagan-Thatcher era Chicago Boys Era 1982: "Third World Debt Crisis" - World Bank/IMF stepped into resolve the debt crisis through "structural adjustment programs" (SAPs) based largely on the Washington Consensus. Thus WB loans to poor countries were conditional on: - Fiscal austerity (= reduce public spending) - Financial deregulation - Trade liberalization - i.e. opening of developing country markets to trade - Privatization of public services - Roll back of welfare 1989: Fall of Berlin Wall, dissolution of USSR, End of Cold War Neoliberalism (Market capitalism): 1980s-2000s Rejection of state-led development: - Promotion of "free" markets, "free" trade, financial "freedom", privatization of state industries, trickle-down economics... - State is not absent, but its role is to facilitate business rather than to protect labor - In the US and England, you saw the rise of neoliberalism via Ronald Regan and Margaret Thatcher respectively Emphasis on sustainable development withgrowth, starting in late 1980s with the Brundtland Commission's Our Common Future. - Brundtland's words: -- ""Poverty itself pollutes the environment" -Brundtland -- Those "who are poor and hungry will often destroy their immediate environment in order to survive". -Brundtland -- "The vision of ' poverty-stricken masses ' caught up in a vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation has come to dominate the mainstream literature, and rapidly became an article of faith among key development agencies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund." -Bryant

What was the Green Revolution?

Technological innovations developed in universities and international research centers, which were applied to agriculture between the 50s-80s and increased agricultural yields dramatically, but with a concomitant rise in chemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides as well as increased demands for water and machinery Brought new cultivation techniques to food production - The period from the middle 1960s to present has been a period in which more food has been produced than consumed and in which more people have been moved above the level of starvation than in the century prior A number of other environmental problems came with the Green Revolution and the expansion of food production including: 1. the loss of unbroken soils 2. a loss in biodiversity 3. more input of fertilizers and pesticides 4. all of this energy comes from the ongoing exploitation of increasingly scarce petroleum resources—costly and environmentally devastating 5. serious implications for the forest these crops replace

Who were the major international institutions involved in the "development project"?

The IMF and the World Bank

Why are diseases that originate in zoonotic spillover increasing? Provide one example.

The climate is changing in temperature, and humans are expanding into new territories where these animals live When diseases move from animals to humans, and vice versa, it is usually because we have reconfigured our shared ecosystems in ways that make the transition much more likely. Deforestation, mining, intensive agriculture and urban sprawl destroy natural habitats, forcing wild creatures to venture into human communities. Excessive hunting, trade and consumption of wildlife significantly increase the probability of cross-species infection Ex.: Major economic growth and environmental upheaval in Malaysia led to vast tracts of forest were logged, burned or replaced with houses, farms, orchards and plantations of rubber and palm oil. To study bats, scientists spread plastic sheets beneath roosting sites to collect dribbles of urine and bits of bat-nibbled fruit, such as mangos and waxy pink jambu air, also known as water apples. Live virus isolated from the samples closely matched the strains that caused the Nipah outbreak, confirming in a 2002 study that fruit bats were the reservoir. With much of the bats' native habitat logged or in ashes, and wild fruit trees less productive than usual, bats began feeding in orchards that bordered on forest. As bats foraged among the farms' trees, saliva-soaked pieces of fruit would have fallen into the pigsties, providing the pigs with irresistible morsels and repeated doses of the virus that would then transfer to pig farmers. Ex2.: In fragmented wilderness, where many creatures cannot survive and species diversity is low, white-footed mice populations boom and infect huge numbers of ticks with the bacteria that cause Lyme, escalating the risk to humans—caused by deforestation that kills off biodiversity

What is meant by the phrase "There is no such thing as a natural disaster"?

The impact of disasters—the destruction and death—is not natural but rather created by social conditions such as lack of infrastructure, lack of state support, no aid networks, etc. that worsen disasters - Often leaves margainalized communities most vulnerable

In what major protest was the EJ movement said to have originated? What was the result of that protest? At the same time, what might a "long view" of the EJ movement show?

The sit in at the Warren County Landfill, primarily Black community, not ideal place for a landfill. This protest resulted in 500 people being arrested A long view of the EJ movement would show a commitment to preserving the Earth for future generations. Long view definition: to think about the things that might happen in the future rather than only about the things that are happening now.

Why and how do you think the spread of disinformation works in the fields of environment and health?

The spread of disinformation in the fields of environment and health clouds the public narrative of root causes of problems, it focuses on the "fruits" rather than the "roots". Disinformation also allows for webs of truths or "alternative truths" to battle each other, meaning that so much information is placed out at one time that consumers don't know what to believe. This can lead to counteracting social changes and disparages public opinion which can stall progress.

Main things to know about Ribot:

The world's poor people are disproportionately vulnerable to loss of livelihood and assets, dislocation, hunger, and famine in the face of climate variability and change. The damages associated with climate events result more from conditions on the ground than from climate change—they get transformed into differentiated outcomes via social structure. An understanding of the multiscale causal structure of specific vulnerabilities and the practices people use to manage these vulnerabilities can point to solutions and potential policy responses. We must identify the institutions at each scale responsible for producing and capable of reducing climate-related risks. To counter biases against the poor and marginalized, vulnerability analyses and policies must be explicitly pro-poor and choose to study outcomes of most cocnern to the poor to give insight into local-level vulnerability management and reduction; we must understand both proximate and distant dynamics that pleace people under stress or on the threshold of disaster.

Think about how different fields/authors identify causality: "Roots" vs. "Fruits" (Naomi Klein); "Ultimate" vs. "Proximate" causation (Bryant); "Political Ecology" vs. "Mainstream Environmentalism" (Bryant); "Social medicine" vs. "Biomedicine" (Greene et. al.), "Vulnerability" vs. "Impacts" (Ribot). What do these pairings have in common? Which go together?

These pairings all kind of frame it like a tree: leaves are impact, proximate, fruits, biomedical—feels more surface level Roots = ultimate causality, deep history, wide-reaching causes, biosocial Looks at colonialism, market access These are all rough starting points to do causal analysis Sometimes one is more short-sighted than the other, but combining these can be crucial Fruits/proximate realm ideas may be more sticky because root causal analysis leads to more structural change, which is difficult to justifiy for large development institutions that have a vested interested in the power structures that are the status quo Maintaining status quo = form of low hanging fruit, bandaid solutions Political Ecology: "Seeks to provide a framework for understanding' socio-natural relations'...interrelations between politics, power, structures, and discourses with the environment." looks at ultimate causation and rejects mainstream environmentalism. Mainstream environmentalism puts the blame on the people of struggling communities ("those who are poor and hungry will often destroy their immediate environment in order to survive"). Political ecology rejects proximate causation, sees that there is more histroical context for these issues (such as colonialism, slavery, etc.) Political Ecology Analysis: Think of your analysis as a tree: -leaves and branches = symptoms / impact (disease symptoms, chronic health problems, $ loss, death, ecological ruin) -the trunk = proximate causes (poverty and inequality, vulnerability of women and children, land tenure security, bad infrastructure, population pressures, refugee migrations, land or mangrove degradation, local political instability and ethnic conflict, corruption, mistrust of government, unavailability of drugs and relief, increased reliance on certain types of food/environmental factors) -roots = ultimate causes (colonization and decolonization, global trade policies, global and domestic capitalist political economy, role of international financial institutions and structural adjustment, political violence/war supported by international and national forces, domestic debt, civil wars, global climate change and regional effects, inherited cultures of patriarchy and gender violence) Social Medicine vs. Biomedicine Biomedical approach - focuses on disease pathology (proximate causation) Biosocial approach - focuses on social causes of disease (ultimate causation) Ex: Type 2 Diabetes -Biomedical diagnosis: Type 2 Diabetes is caused by the body's inability to produce/react to insulin, resulting in poor sugar breakdown and high blood sugar levels. Caused by obesity, poor diet, and/or family history of Diabetes -Biosocial diagnosis: Type 2 Diabetes is on the rise in "food deserts", or low-income, racially segregated areas without access to healthy food options. In these areas, young people rely on highly processed/high sugar foods, which are also marketed to them. Caused by economic, racial, and spatial inequality as well as the political economy of media Vulnerability vs. Impact: "Impact analysis" (also known as risk-hazard approach) -Total magnitude of damage "Social vulnerability analysis" -Instead of asking "what" questions, you ask "why" and "how" questions" -The distribution of damage across social variables such as race, class, gender, etc.

Institutions aren't a silver bullet, though. Why is it important to embed institutional management of the commons in an understanding of local and regional power dynamics? [See RHM]

These theories assume individual free agents of relatively similar power in both determining the outcome of the game and making choices to cooperate In a world of complex political power and inequality, such assumptions are unrealistic and potentially dangerous Matching rules with users and developing systems of collective choice becomes extremely difficult in places where not all users have equal access or responsibilities First and foremost rule of common property resource management is the bounding and exclusion of some potential user populations - Where such exclusions are founded on basic inequalities, many people will be less inclined to cooperate and failure becomes inevitable

Why might "proximate" explanations for hunger and famine be dangerous, apart from simply being wrong?

They oftentimes put the blame on impoverished communities without seeing where these issues truly stem from. This creates a false narrative and eventually harms the individuals in these areas rather than help them.

Ethics is the codification of morals. All environment and health policy is to some extent undergirded by certain ethical concerns, although most of the time, they are not made explicit. Western environmental ethics can broadly be categorized into (1) anthropocentricism derived from utilitarianism and classical liberal thought and (2) bioenvironmentalism/ecocentrism (i.e. the idea that nature has intrinsic value). In the US, the rift between these two positions was characterized respectively by "conservationism" (Pinchot) vs. "preservationism" (Muir). Why is this binary limiting?

This binary doesn't recognize the work that can be done by mixing these concepts, as seen by Indigenous people in Guha's critique and by Black people in Turkey Creek Many ways of interacting with the environment will involve overlapping schools of thought

Why does the Tragedy of the Commons arise, according to Garrett Hardin? What two solutions would Hardin propose to deal with this tragedy; which did he favor, and why?

Tragedy of the Commons: rational, self-interested, individuals will destroy the commons because (essentially) everyone is selfish Solutions to ToC: either tyrannize themselves into control (socialism or authoritarianism) or use strict forms of private property Favored private property rules because it allowed for state or private control

What are some components of a vulnerability analysis?

Vulnerability analysis uncovers the factors internal to society that makes some groups more prone to harm than others; as well as the historical factors that make societies vulnerable Vulnerability = a function of exposure to a hazard, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity - Exposure: The degree to which a social group/region undergoes a hazard - Sensitivity: The existing conditions which make a social group/region prone to harm - Adaptive capacity: The abilities of a social group and the society at large to respond, cope, and recover from harm

Main things to know about Guha:

When looking at German and Chipko environmentalism ideas, there are two distinguishing features from that of Western movements: 1. For the sections of society most critically affected by environmental degradation—poor and landless peasants, women, and tribals—it is a question of sheer survival, not of enhancing the quality of life 2. As a consequence, the environmental solutions they articulate deeply involve questions of equity as weIl as economic and political redistribution - Both German and Indian environmental traditions allow for a greater integration of ecological concerns with livelihood and work -- Also place a greater emphasis on equity and social justice Escaped the preoccupation with wilderness preservation so characteristic of American cultural and environmental history (82) "Overconsumption as the unasked question of the American conservation movement." (82)

What does it mean to say that "wilderness" is a social construct, as William Cronon did?

Wilderness is entirely a cultural invention that is based on discourses around the sublime and the frontier that construct it as untouched land, divine and ready to be conquered in an American Way. The modern environmental movement is itself a grandchild of romanticism and post-frontier ideology, which is why it is no accident that so much environmentalist discourse takes its bearings from the wilderness these intellectual movements helped create; wilderness as the unexamined foundation in modern environmentalism must be investigated. Overall, "there is nothing natural about the concept of wilderness. It is entirely a creation of the culture that holds it dear, a product of the very history it seeks to deny." - Wilderness as pristine and virgin is steeped in white privilege - Calling this a social construct challenges if it is natural/given - Erases Black and Indigenous relations with land and ecologies

What are factors that explain decreasing fertility rates?

Women's education literacy, availability of condoms, the availability of women's reproductive health care on demand, and the social/political autonomy of women, average age at marriage, religious/political/cultural beliefs/laws

Is international health a departure from colonial/tropical medicine?

Yeah, these organizations were literally created to benefit developed countries, and the workforce of developed countries abroad. The advancement in tropical medicine was to aid the West and had nothing to do with the people in these countries. These international bureaucracies created the impression that centralized "one size fits all" health programs were better than decentralized health practices, and that national governments were important in controlling disease across international borders

Zoonotic spillover

transmission of pathogens from wild animals to humans