World Ecology Research Articles

Greening of the agricultural sector as a condition for sustainable development of the Russian economy

Sustainable development of mankind, which consists in meeting the needs of the present day without undermining the possibilities of future generations, enshrined in the UN program documents, is becoming a necessary condition for the survival of civilization. The growing scale of global environmental problems makes it vitally important to find solutions to combine global economic growth and sustainable development of mankind with the preservation of the environment. Today, the issues of energy and resource efficiency of production are especially relevant, particularly in the agricultural sector, which environment burden has increased. In conditions of high global competition and aggravated issues of the world ecology, the country faces the task of modernizing its economy. The new national development goals of Russia directly resonate with the sustainable development goals defined by the UN and are reflected in the general policy of resource use and environmental protection. However, additional steps are needed to maintain positions in world trade. The paper formulates the prerequisites and solutions for the greening of agricultural production and identifies the leaders of the process, as well as the segment of producers, for which greening measures are factors of survival. Indicators of environmental efficiency, the use of which will make it possible to make greening measures the engine of the country's economic agricultural production, as well as goals and solutions for the greening of agricultural production are proposed.

Three Aral Sea Films and the Soviet Ecology

Drawing on analysis of three films that converge on the Aral Sea and span from 1929 to 1988, Alec Brookes engages with Marxist scholarship on the Anthropocene and Capitalocene to argue that the Soviet ecology rested on the same fundamental principle of the Capitalist world ecology: the alienation of indigenous producers from land in waves of primitive accumulation. The Forty-First (1956) and Turksib (1929) both show how, alongside other devices, the dialectics of film form as theorized by Sergei Eisenstein were repurposed to reframe the conquest of “Man” over “Nature” and ultimately to appropriate land from producers within an ostensibly Marxist framework. In The Needle (1988), on an already desiccated Aral Sea, director Rashid Nugamov suggests that the restoration of Asian land to Asian producers provides a way forward after the decay and depravation of the Soviet ecology. The analysis here suggests that to confront the Capitalist world ecology in the present we must work to restore land to indigenous producers and promote indigenous ecological relations.

World Ecology in Martineau’s and Gaskell’s Colonial Pastorals

Abstract The pastoral tends to offer a retreat from modern life, but Harriet Martineau and Elizabeth Gaskell reverse this pattern. They both turn to the colonies to reconcile the pastoral mode with capitalism, and, in their pastoral depictions of colonial life, we witness that mode’s peculiar capacity to narrate what the environmental historian Jason W. Moore calls ‘the capitalist world ecology’ – the globally systemic way of putting nature to work in the service of capitalism. Set in natural environments marked by human influence, the pastoral is a mode that can register economic relations with their ecological dimensions. In Martineau’s Homes Abroad and Cinnamon and Pearls – tales in Illustrations of Political Economy – and Gaskell’s Mary Barton, the pastoral aestheticizes the role that natural environments play in the development of capitalism. Homes Abroad presents peaceful agrarian life in Van Diemen’s Land as a lucrative enterprise in accord with modernization. Turning to Ceylon, Cinnamon and Pearls imagines an organic capitalism in which the celebration of plant life goes hand in hand with emergent property borders. In Mary Barton, the final pastoral setting in Canada is home to peace and progress. The felled trees in that setting signal the appropriation of nature for profit in the timber trade. These works of fiction capture the accumulation of capital in rural and suburban areas, which was historically key to the emergence of capitalism. The pastoral’s ability to depict the capitalist world ecology reflects a preoccupation with historical forces that is already present in the mode’s roots in antiquity.

Italian perspectives on world-ecology. Introduction

Italian perspectives on world-ecology. Introduction

Resource-making, materiality and the disruptive geographies of the extractive industries in the Asia-Pacific

This essay introduces a Special Section on ‘Recent Developments in the Extractive Industries in the Asia-Pacific’. Though diverse in their approaches and objects of study, the five articles speak strongly to understandings of extractive industry as a socio-spatial and political-economic process of ‘disruption’. Taking the disruptive possibilities of the “socio-spatial dialectic” as our starting point, and drawing inspiration from work on the “operations of capital” and “world ecology”, we briefly sketch out a set of relational and disruptive moments that are identified in this rewarding collection. Above all from this Special Section we are reminded of the tight, recursive imbrication of mineral extraction and resource-making with processes of state formation and capitalist accumulation.

Making Space in Critical Environmental Geography for the Metabolic Rift

Marx’s concept of metabolic rift has emerged as a prominent theoretical framework with which to explain the socioecological crises of capitalism. Yet, despite its relevance to key concerns in critical environmental geography, it has remained marginal within the field. Here we address this by distinguishing between metabolic rift theory and two predominant Marxist approaches in environmental geography: the production-of-nature thesis and posthumanist world ecology. We follow this comparative assessment with a detailed analysis of metabolic rift theory and a brief overview of how the concept relates to key concerns in critical environmental geography. We conclude by discussing how a stronger engagement with the metabolic rift approach could benefit the field. Key Words: Marxism, materialist dialectic, nature–society relationship, production of nature, world ecology hybridism.

Ernst Haeckel's "ecology" in Russia of the first half of the twentieth century.

The vast scientific heritage of Ernst Haeckel, evolutionist and thinker, comprises ecology as well. It is well known that it was he in 1866 introduced the term "ecology" for the science on interaction of the organisms and the environment. Haeckel built his system of the biological science (to be more precise, of the zoological science), including ecology, on the basis of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory (the theory of natural selection). Traditionally, it is supposed that Haeckel's merit in world ecology is just the introduction of its name. However, there are few works devoting to development of Russian ecology. Actually, analysis of the impact of Haeckel's ecological views on Russian biologists and development of ecology in the first half of the last century demonstrates that widely used opinion should be corrected. I hypothesise that Haeckel's influence on Russian biologists was somewhat more than commonly thought. In spite of a rather long oblivion of the term "ecology" in the Russian literature followed by confusion of ecology and some other sciences (physiology, biogeography), some biologists saw in the Haeckel's understanding of ecology the base for synthesis of ecology and the evolutionary theory. There are some specific traits of Haeckel's influence on Russian biologists. At first, some of them accepted his evolutionary approach. Secondly, they highly appreciated his definition of ecology. Biologists defended such understanding of ecology even in the period of Lysenkoism pressure. At the same time, it is evident that Haeckel's influence on development of ecology was somewhat limited.

Bibliometric Analysis of Trends in Global Sustainable Livelihood Research

The concept of sustainable livelihoods (SL) is one of the most important subjects of sustainable development, and is an important long-term goal for poverty alleviation. There has been growing interest in the nature and practical application of SL in recent decades. This paper applies bibliometric analysis to collect and analyze data on sustainable livelihoods from the expanded Science Citation index (SCIE) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Bibliometric maps can assist greatly in visualizing and summarizing large volumes of data and in studying scientific outputs. The findings offer insights into research trends pertaining to SL, such as these: (1) In recent decades there has been an increase in both the number of papers on SL and their scientific influence. (2) The most active journals are Sustainability, Ecology and Society, Land Use Policy, and International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology. (3) SL papers are distributed mainly in the fields of Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Ecology, Planning & Development, and Green & Sustainable Science & Technology. (4) The USA and UK are leaders in SL research as measured by both the quantity and quality of SL publications. Some developing countries, notably India and China, have seen an increase in SL publications in recent years. (5) Wageningen University in Netherlands, the Chinese Academy of Science, and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), headquartered in Indonesia, have had a major influence in the field of international SL research. (6) International cooperation has a positive effect on the growth of SL research, suggesting that there is a need for strengthening cooperation among countries, international institutions, and individuals. (7) Major areas of SL research (“hot topics”) are theoretical research on the SL concept; ecosystem conservation; poverty reduction in the poverty-stricken areas; the impact of climate change on livelihoods; and linkages between SL-related policies and institutional change.

СЛОВО 2018 РОКУ: ЛІНГВІСТИЧНИЙ ВИМІР

The article is devoted to popular sociolinguistic event ‘A Word of the Year’, which takes place annually on web-sites of famous dictionaries (Oxford English Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster’s English Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary of the English Language) and well- known linguistic institutions (American Dialect Society, Global Language Monitor, Australian Na- tional Dictionary Centre, Society of the German Language). In English-speaking environment Oxford English Dictionary as one of the first dictionaries to launch ‘A Word of the Year’ list chooses a word or expression which have attracted a particular interest of its readers over the last twelve months. Every year hundreds of candidates are discussed online and a particular word is chosen to reflect the mood and preoccupations of a specific year as well as signify its potential as a word of cultural significance. The adjective toxic, chosen by Oxford English Dictionary as key word of 2018, is under linguistic analysis in present research. Firstly, we study lexical and semantic peculiarities of word of the year. Secondly, we investigate the most frequently-used patterns of its lexical combinability with nouns. According to online version of Oxford English Dictionary, among nouns, which regularly collocate with the target adjective toxic, the following should be paid attention to: chemical, substance, waste, algae, air, masculinity, environment, relationship, culture. Finally, we exemplify the contextual usage of adjective toxic in modern English. Moreover, we dwell on the mechanisms of influence of key spheres of life in English-speaking world (politics, economy, ecology, social and interpersonal relations) on users’ choice in 2018.

Transformation of World Automotive Industry

The world industry is on a threshold of a new development cycle which is characterized by emergence of breakthrough technologies: distributed ledger technology, drone-type devices, 3D printing, virtual reality, Internet of things, augmented reality etc. Due to these technologies fundamental changes will take place in the majority of economic branches. The automotive industry is not an exception. This industry plays one of the key roles in economy in a great number of countries and changes occurring in it lead not only to creation of new products, technical processes but these changes also entail improvement of the industrial base which has been already created. The Republic of Belarus considers an automotive industry as one of key industries for its economy and its efficiency has a high dependency factor pertaining to speed of innovation emergence and implementation that is strategically important aspect of increase in competitiveness both on current sales markets and on potential ones. The paper pays a special attention to two main trends arising in the course of forming a new industrialization: increase in environmentally-friendly fuel systems and digital transformation. Problems of world ecology have exerted a considerable impact on developments in the field of alternative energy sources. Speed of development and promotion of electric vehicles considerably exceed “breakthrough” innovation developments of the past. However a great number of factors can have a significant effect on the future of electric vehicles and two of them are thoroughly considered in the paper: cost of energy (batteries) and price of oil (at the price of about 20 USD for barrel the development rate will considerably decrease). Besides the matter of environmental friendliness the paper pays attention to services of digital transformation. The world has already presented examples pertaining to usage of remote control for dump trucks, telematics etc. Such an approach makes it possible for organizations to optimize substantially an expenditure budget and doing so we increase resource use efficiency. The paper also contains a review of innovations in the automotive industry of the Republic of Belarus: BelGee electric cars, Belkommunmash electrobuses, developments of large industrial equipment.

Recipes of the Club of Rome for world energy and ecology

Recipes of the Club of Rome for world energy and ecology

PRESENTATION OF HORTICULTURE INSTITUTE PLAN WITH SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH (SOLAR BUILDING)

Abstract. Renewable energies will account for two thirds of global power plants by 2040, which is why, in most countries; they are the lowest source of cost for new production. At present, the share of direct and indirect renewable energy in final energy consumption will increase from 39 percent to 45 percent in 2040. The sustainable development scenario is an integrated solution for achieving a wide range of energy-related goals for sustainable economic development: Climate stabilization reduces the cleaner air and universal access to modern energy, and at the same time, the security risk of energy. In this regard, the purpose of this research is to achieve a combined way to access a wide range ofenergy goals for sustainable economic development in sustainable architecture with the aim of expressing the study and research of the principles and practical solutions and methods of implementing the design of the flower production center with the aim of the sustainable development scenario for the preservation of the global environment as well as the preservation of the architecture effect in the world ecology system: The climate stability, clean air and global access to modern energy, as well as the reduction of energy security risks, are a comprehensive solution. And it's about the ability of the horticulture institute to combine environmental and atmospheric factors, and combine them with spatial and cosmological qualities, using the technology of the day to use sustainable energies and botanical laboratory which can focus on the laboratory needs of this center and even the region.This research is based on the analysis and description method. The type of research work is applied.Key words: space design, targeted agricultural development, sustainability architecture (solar building), heat storage system, greenhouse

Late Holocene Poetics: Genre and Geohistory in Beachy Head

ABSTRACT Might we read the changing work of literary genre as a signature of the Holocene–Anthropocene transition, a symbolic parallel to the lithostratigraphic markers sought by geologists? I argue that the rise and fall of rural descriptive poetry in Britain may index an early but formative phase of this epochal transition. Charlotte Smith’s “Beachy Head” (1807) is my example of a late Holocene poetics closely attuned to the planetary forces energizing capitalism as a world ecology but largely unable to represent, except in the negative, the emergence of fossil capitalism. Internalized in the form of “Beachy Head,” I suggest, is a pre-thermodynamic conception of the intertwinement of planetary and socio-historical forces, a model of energy exchange that takes as its paradigmatic object not the steam engine but the climate system, and which takes as its source of input not the stock of subterranean coal but the flow of solar radiance. By recovering this late Holocene imaginary, we gain a different vantage on the Anthropocene, as an epoch in which climatological exigency has been not transcended but intensified by the fossil energy regime.

The postcolonial child in Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild

This article offers a consideration of the figure of the child in Benh Zeitlin’s film Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), a vibrant but urgent ecological drama motivated by the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It examines how a film that on its release was praised as an American survival story focused on a feisty young heroine can be more productively understood through a postcolonial lens as a radical vision of world ecology underpinned by a complex critique of childhood, development, and marginality. Exploring how vectors of racial, economic, and environmental relations intersect in the film’s fantastical form, the focus is shifted from survival to the connectivity that the precarious postcolonial child enables amongst actual and mythological animals and between past, present, and future time-worlds. As such, the child de-centres the contemporary notion of the human and the tenets of development, progress, and mastery over nature that hold it in place. By delineating the material coordinates of the film in terms of the capitalist, neo-imperialist world-system and analyzing how its mixing of the real and the fantastic elaborates upon the causes and responses to environmental disaster, the article shows how the postcolonial child provokes new approaches to ecological relations.

The Importance of Hydraulic Structures for Society: Quay Walls and Dikes in the Netherlands

Since mankind exists, men have undertaken engineering activities to make their life more pleasant and secure. However this has not been an easy task, especially in the past. The knowledge of mathematics and physics to describe engineering problems became available only since 1400-1500. Nevertheless, great achievements have been made by man before that time, e.g. the pyramids in Egypt, the first sluice in China, the Borobudur temple in Indonesia, and the design and building activities of the Inca’s in South America. To illustrate this development, also the world economy, world ecology will be shortly mentioned. The structures that are briefly discussed in this paper are: soil and concrete dams for generating electricity, reservoirs for irrigation and drinking water, dikes, sluices, inland and sea, tunnels, and quay walls. This paper presents an overview of hydraulic structures in general with the emphasis on quay walls and dikes in the Netherlands. Examples of these structures will be discussed illustrating present state of the art and also with a view to the future. Conclusions and recommendations are given to enhance the knowledge of hydraulic structures.

Education-Healthy Development Binomial from the Health of Whole Living Entity Perspective

Social life including economic life should evolve in harmony with live world ecology. The economy, as human society product should harmonize with the exigencies of “the health of whole living entity”. However, the realities of the present lived at local and global level reveal: inhuman social inequalities, frustrating consumerism, systemic pollution, poverty in the middle abundance, science without humanism, wealth without honest work etc. generated by negative human behaviors. The transition towards healthy development defined by the win-win principle, assumes that everything healthy for the natural environment is also healthy for man-created environment. This complex and long process is based on the re-spiritualization of the current educational model based on skills with the educational model in the cause of life.

Agro-Industrialization, Petrodollar Illusions and the Transformation of the Capitalist World Economy in the 1970s: The Latin American Experience

A transformation of world capitalism took place during the 1970s. Profitability decline in core countries was compounded by an increase in world oil prices connected to the rise of OPEC’s oil rent. In this context, a fraction of the Latin American semiperiphery rose in industrial prominence but ultimately collapsed. A combination of recycled petrodollars and an agrarian transformation underwrote this semiperipheral agro-industrial rise. By 1982, however, illusions of advance resting on industrialization were undermined by the debt crisis. While part of the semiperiphery embraced debt-led industrialization, capitalism switched gears into a regime where financial power, not industrialization, became the main sign of coreness. This process is examined through a perspective of capitalism as (simultaneously) world economy and world ecology, where the production of nature and the production of capital are organized in order to secure endless profitability. Nature, in the form of oil, labor-power and agricultural exports takes center stage.

Higher education governance and performance based funding as an ecology of games

To address the problematic situation of higher education affordability, and literacy, President Obama has recently outlined a new strategy to make colleges more affordable for the middle class. While this strategy includes many components, “Paying for Performance” is a core components of this new strategy. In recent years, states have also focused on performance based policies to influence the behaviour of higher education institutions. However, most impact assessment studies have shown that such policies have had a limited effect on the performance of these institutions. Most explanations given for this failure have been on the basis of principal-agent theory, resource dependence theory and neo-institutionalism. All these analyses tend to view universities in isolation of their real world ecology. Drawing from the insights of ecology of games perspective, this paper explains the failure of performance based funding policies in terms of the inherent complexity of the higher education system. Policy design implications like flexibility, symbolic contextualization and decentralized financial governance for higher education governance are also discussed.

Managing organizations for sustainable development in emerging countries: an introduction

This introduction article is for the special issue ‘Managing organizations for sustainable development in emerging countries: natural resources, biodiversity, and climate change’ in the International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology and presents an introduction to the topics and summarizes accepted contributions in the special issue. The accepted works may contribute with organizational management in the search for more sustainable organizations. The works focus on the challenges of managing organizations in a context of degradation of natural resources, loss of biodiversity, and climate change. Accepted papers discuss these issues, based on the reality of emerging economies (e.g. Brazil, India, and China).

A Biblical Reflection on Ecology and Its Application to Contemporary African Church

Throughout history, Africa environment has encountered different and difficult environmental mess such as climate change, biodiversity, over-population, pollution, deforestation, accumulated refuse, clean water shortage, e.t.c. and there has been questions about whether man has any right to take care of his ecology. Should people continue with the destruction of the ecology they are supposed to cherish, care for, keep and develop modalities for a better environment? The role of the church towards environmental maintenance has also been questioned. The aim of this paper therefore, is to examine from the Scriptures the theological basis for caring for creation and how they could be applied in Nigeria, in Africa and the world at large, knowing that the world's ecology is in a mess. The paper will also proffer suggestions, solutions or measures to be taken in order to avoid further destruction of the ecology in Nigeria and indeed African.