Analytics

July 02, 2012

The macroecology of sustainability, and peak Malthusianism

This planet is finite but there's no peak Malthusianism in sight. Despite the rapid depletion of natural resources that are essential for scientific output, academics keep churning out papers arguing that the next end of the world will, unlike previous ones, actually end the world - and perhaps forever. A reason for the undiminished - or should I say sustainable - output is that under Star Trekky titles like A safe operating space for humanity, Approaching a state shift in Earth’s biosphere, Planetary opportunities: a social contract for global change science to contribute to a sustainable future or the latest The macroecology of sustainability authors are just recycling older ideas - ideas so old that they predate previous ends of the world.

[Update: I have just found Navigating the Anthropocene: Improving Earth system governance.]

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