Traveling abroad to “save” the planet

By Laura Betancur Alarcón White savior complex, elite studies in the green Scandinavia and other millennial adventures. Can the political ecology approach shed light on the incongruities, flaws and political struggles behind “traveling abroad to save the world”? I am attending a sustainability class in one of the best universities in the world. A ‘privilege’ …

A case for small climate stories

by Dylan M. Harris The best stories about climate change are not about climate change. Rather, they are about small, particular, mundane events. They are personal and intimate. And they are grounded in specific locales. These 'small' stories show different ways of imagining, creating, and sustaining meaning in the face of climate change. As the …

Political Ecologies of Waste: Salvaged Livelihoods and Infra-structural Labour

by Benjamin Irvine Solid waste is often seen as an environmental problem to be solved through change of behaviour and recycling. Political ecology can sharpen our analysis of the politics involved in the way materials move through the economy. Prospects for reducing the amount of solid waste generated and ambitions for a “circular economy” will …

The big picture – a political ecology comic essay

by Zully Rosadio When looking at a picture, asking "What does it NOT show?" is as important as observing what it shows. Complex realities, such as those of Samburu people, their livestock and wildlife in Kenya, appear by posing the key question 'Why?' Zully Rosadio holds a bachelor degree in Biology as well as in …

The Loneliest Man on Earth

by Juan Francisco Moreno “Economic efficiency” in the use of natural resources without concern for the justice of its distribution, or the scale of its extraction is just bad fiction, just like the story of the internalization of externalities. Hopelessly, the exploitation of the Amazon has always entailed a process of dispossession of those whose …

About Permaculture Songs and the Food (In)security Narrative

by Elena Louisa The promotion of food (in)security over decades has achieved to govern the way we think about alternatives to industrialised agriculture. Global famine is not a problem of food scarcity but a legacy of unequal power structures which are weaved into past and present agri-food systems. Agriculture based on permaculture can embrace localized …

Call for Contributions: “Political Ecologies of the Far Right” conference (Lund, 15-17 november)

An interdisciplinary academic-activist conference, organized by the Human Ecology Division at Lund University in collaboration with The Zetkin Collective and the Center for Studies on Climate Change Denialism (CEFORCED) at Chalmers University Lund University, 15-17 November 2019 Far-right political parties, ideologies and social movements are increasingly exercising influence across the world. At the same time, ecological issues, such as climate change, deforestation, land use change, biodiversity loss, and toxic …

Grassroots initiatives in climate change-adaptation for justice and sustainability

While climate campaigners organize direct action groups and city councils begin considering climate change an undeniable imperative in planning and policy, school strikers have launched the international platform School Strike 4 Climate. The support for local climate action around the world is growing and will not stop.                  …

The Internet – a case for political ecology?

By Annika Kettenburg The digital sphere is more than the playground of techno-optimism, eco-modernism and capitalist expansion. While in the mainstream it is portrayed as immaterial and unpolitical, the internet is the place where personal data becomes a commodity whose production and distribution exploits workers and nature. As informed citizens, we are all aware of …

Political ecologies of urban nature in Bogotá, Colombia

by Germán A. Quimbayo Ruiz In Bogotá, urban nature suffers from pressures for urban development, profit-making and corruption. But it has also been mobilised as a legitime vehicle in pursuit of a more just city-region. Bogotá is facing several environmental challenges, from air pollution and public transport to continuous pushes for profit-driven urban development, contested …