Lectures Flashcards
Globalisation and Resources Lecture
- 99% of rain forests in Sierra Leone ‘have been destroyed by the natives in their wasteful method of farming
Globalisation and Resources Lecture
What did Lane-Poole conclude in 1911 about Sierra Leone?
- 99% of rain forests in Sierra Leone ‘have been destroyed by the natives in their wasteful method of farming
Coal Oil and Power Lecture
What was a valuable, comprehensive source on coal usage in the 19th century?
- Dearth of Petrol, leading Walter Long to determine that oil was of strategic importance to the US; resulting in the creation of Naval National Petroleum Reserves for future needs - i.e. Alaska, 1923.
Essay Four Important Notes
Detail Hartig, Brundtland and the MDGs.
- Whereas Hartig might be seen as part of an evolution of thought in the realm of sustainable forestry, Brundtland’s definition can be read as an attempt to create a summative line on sustainable development in light of multiple but jarring, inconclusive and incompatible narratives on sustainability.
- Brundtland presents poverty as the site of social unsustainability, charging that “poverty generates tensions and conflicts, urban and rural violence”.
- Through models of redistribution, such as, in one case “25 per cent of the incremental income of the richest one-fifth of the population is redistributed equally to the others”, Brundtland detailed how greater social equality, and hence, sustainability, would come about.
- By the MDGs of 2000, environmental sustainability in its own right represented only one of eight objectives – the rest of which were more directed at wider social uplift through eliminating famine, hunger and disease.
Essay Four Important Notes
Detail the context and role of the OCF
• OCF: 900-day long study by a “high calibre” group of academics and politicians with strong environmental credentials (namely, Gro herself, Volker Hauff, Paulo Nogueira-Singh, Maurice Strong and Jim MacNeill to name a few).• Objective of OCF: “re-examine the critical issues of the environment and development”, as well as to “formulate innovative, concrete, and realistic action proposals to deal with them”
Essay Three Important Notes
Quote Dahl and describe the Gasoline Famine of 1920
- Oil promised the tools of modern warfare, including aeroplanes and an oil-powered Navy (which could travel double the distance of the coal counterpart) - Dahl
- Gasoline Famine of 1920’; as noted by Olmstead and Rhode: “In the spring and summer of 1920, a serious gasoline famine crippled the entire West Coast, shutting down businesses and threatening vital services. Motorists endured hour-long lines to receive 2-gallon rations, and, in many localities, fuel was unavailable for as long as a week at a time… In San Francisco, gunplay erupted in a dispute over ration entitlements.”
Essay Two Important Notes
Francisco de Vitoria
- “Secondly, in the law of nations a thing which does not belong to anyone (res nullius) becomes the property of the first taker, according to the law Ferae bestiae (Institutions II.I.12); therefore, if gold in the ground or pearls in the sea or anything else in the rivers has not been appropriated, they will belong by the law of nations to the first taker, just like the little fishes of the sea”
Essay One Important Notes
Bernard de Mandeville
- ‘but what made that contemptible spot of the earth so considerable among the powers of Europe has been their political wisdom in postponing everything to merchandise and navigation [and] the unlimited liberty of conscience enjoyed among them’ commenting on Dutch.
- Although the over-consumption of Dutch was criticised by Mandeville, and improvers were wary of Dutch dependence on imports, officials became increasingly open to the Dutch model.
- Assertive state + political economy for material advancement predisposed officials towards attaining ‘those moral and temporal goods which are necessary for a pleasant life’
Essay One Important Notes
What did John Houghton and Nicholas Barbon conclude about the intensification of resource consumption
- John Houghton and Nicholas Barbon - intensification of resource consumption was ultimately for the common good. The issue was not so much about over-use of resources, but under-use - resultant from perceived under-employment in the agrarian sector.
Essay One Important Notes
Quote Paul Slack from the Invention of Improvement
- Where men of great wealth do stoop to husbandry, it multiplieth riches exceedingly.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What did John Hartwick return to in 1977?
- Hotelling thesis, from 1930s. Now seen as prophet, only because a broken clock is right twice a day
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What did Venezuela see in the 1980s
- Venezuela - catastrophic debt crisis. Whereas 1970s saw huge windfall as west sought oil, 1980s saw collapse in prices which made public spending schemes impossible to finance. By 1989, food riots.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What was project independence?
- US: Project Independence - complete self-sufficiency by 1980. Carter drove solar; tighter reg. On gas. Berated Americans for wastefulness - at time of Winter 1977 blackouts. New taxes were propositioned, but did not make way through Congress (no definite answer on where windfall would go).
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What did the Iranians tell the West in the 1970s?
- “the industrial world will have to realise that the era of terrific progress and even more terrific income and wealth base from cheap oil is finished. They must find alternative sources of energy”
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
How did Nixon respond to the energy crisis?
- US response: Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act - Nixon - control allocation to states and industries at wholesale level, based on oil distribution in 1972 - not effective; some with abundance, others, dearth.
⁃ Localised shortages and queues, impromptu rationing, bans on Sunday driving, speculation on gas - people stock up.
⁃ Saw images of people fighting over oil (not frequent, but pictured - people did not record normality). Moral tone on consumption arose, tapping wartime sentiment - ‘if you drive alone, your passenger is Hitler’. Encouragement of car pooling.
⁃ 1974 - truck driver strike - resisted 55mph speeding limit (not fuel efficient/ delayed deliveries). Does not last longer than 2-3 weeks as not unionised.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What caused the surge in oil in the 2000s?
- Rise of China from 1999 onwards
- 2005 - aftermath of Iraq.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
Western response to the energy crisis?
- After exponential increase, price of freight shipping decreases by factor of 10.
- Massive investment into shipyard building -> leads to overcapacity. Rapidly shut down in 1980s as supply routes normalise.
- 1980s - North Sea becomes affordable, goes online.
- The Soviet petrostate of the 1970s collapsed in the 1980s (part of wider decay of Union)
- Posted price system ends in 1980s. Becomes free market with booms and busts.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What happened during the Christmas 1973?
- Iran (not involved in War) raises price to $11 (double posted-price) to encourage transition away from oil.
- Concern over scarcity to encourage virtuous behaviour
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
When did nationalisation of oil companies occur in the postwar period?
- 6 October 1973: Trigger moment for dramatic shift in oil supply and understanding of energy generally
⁃ Yom Kippur - Egypt and Syria attack Israel - lost war rapidly.
⁃ Fighting closes pipelines from Syria to Med.
- 16 October - doubling of posted price from Gulf countries.
- 17 October - total embargo to US and Dutch (Dutch keen supporters of Israel, and biggest oil refiner) ⁃ Raised price from $3 to $5.11p.b. -> Auction price up to $17. Supertankers would be bought whilst in transit.
- Freight rates quadruple in October in rush to secure oil.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
When did nationalisation of oil companies occur in the postwar period?
- Syria 1964, Algeria 1971, Libya 1971, Iraq 1972.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
When was OPEC founded?
- 1960
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
By how much did the price of supertankers rise during the energy crisis?
- Scramble for supertankers - go up in price by 253%.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What is important about the nature of the Middle East in terms of oil and geostrategic positioning?
- M.E. -> Not only is oil present, most oil passes through. Suez opened in 1869. World tanker fleet built to fit through Suez. Closes in 1956 during crisis. Oil tankers cannot get through, but are not equipped to go around Africa - only supertankers can achieve.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What problem faced the posted price system?
- Posted price low - companies make money in refinement. Inflation over 1960s means real cost of posted price is low, meaning income to government from oil companies falls.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What could be said about oil companies (in terms of integration)?
- Oil companies are vertically integrated - from production to forecourt. Crude is rarely sold outside of the company - as such, there is no clear price on a barrel of oil (intentional - allows company to settle tax liabilities). Instead, governments operate using a posted price (as of Aramco, 1950). Royalties and tax are deducted from the posted price, which typically resulted in 50:50 distribution.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What was the delicate balance the US govt tried to achieve throughout the 1970s?
- Government attempted to keep prices down for consumers, whilst oil companies insisted on elevating the price in order to fund new exploration.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
Who declared the 1970s a ‘National Energy Crisis?’
- John Nassikas, Federal Power Commissioner
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What contributed to energy problems in the US?
- Expansion of Phoenix and Arizona, for instance, sees shortages of gas in the SW. Pressure on fuel led to interest in the Canadian Arctic.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What happened in the US in the 1970s vis-a-vis oil supply?
- By late 1960s/70s - gas supply becomes erratic - due to high consumption in 1950s/ 60s.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What did the US Govt do by keeping oil prices artificially high?
- 1960s - US becomes dependent on gas for energy production over oil - as a result of high cost. Government puts cap on max price of gas.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
When did Time Discounting become important?
- Time Discounting became more important in the 1990s. Significant manifestations occurred in the 2000s with the likes of the STERN 2006 model - built in the cost of futurity into its report.
1970s Energy Crisis Lecture
What is a truism about oil prices?
- Predictors have been repeatedly wrong with estimates for oil price.
Energy Limits in the Age of Abundance Lecture
What did the Arabs attempt to do in 1973?
- Arab nations attempt to destroy Israel - plays out on global playing field.
Energy Limits in the Age of Abundance Lecture
What did Truman do in 1959?
- 1959 oil quotas to deliberately elevate the price of US oil - to keep Texas producers in business.
Energy Limits in the Age of Abundance Lecture
What did M.A. Adelman write about predictions
- ‘All predictions are unreliable, particularly those concerning the future’
Energy Limits in the Age of Abundance Lecture
How could the exploration of northern Canada be recognised as?
- A hearts and minds investment - US oil companies showed officials Canada’s biggest th blowout - D-18 - 25 October 1970 - to prove the viability of supply in the region.
Energy Limits in the Age of Abundance Lecture
What theory outlined the depletion of the Ozone by CFCs?
- 1974 Rowland–Molina hypothesis
Age of the Environment Lecture
Evidence how strains on oil supply contributed to research into riskier/ more expensive oil fields.
- King Christian Island - 1970 - Canada - Arctic dev. Began in 1960s, but maintaining high investment = difficult. Investors sceptical of supply. US feared for natural gas at the time -> forced to consider purchasing from USSR.
Energy Limits in the Age of Abundance Lecture
Briefly outline the principles behind Tim Mitchell’s ‘sabotage’.
- Tim Mitchell - Sabotage: coal - lots of workers, greater potential to derail critical processes. Oil employs few people on high salaries. Oil companies more predisposed to sabotage - to prevent a glut in supply. Constantly attempting to create fear of end to drive prices up. Cartelisation allows control of upstream and downstream processes. Oil companies have a ‘preference for crisis’
Energy Limits in the Age of Abundance Lecture
What could be said of oil consumption trends in 1980s?
- Oil consumption in 1980 did not match the consumption levels of pre-shock trends.
Age of the Environment Lecture
When was there a general impetus for the development of a global institution for managing the environment?
- New Scientist, 1970 - called for global management.
Age of the Environment Lecture
When did different institutions
- End of 60s - rise of national institutions for the environment: USA Environmental Protection Agency (1970);
- UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution 1969, Ministry of Env. 1970;
- FR - Ministry of Environment 1970;
- Germany - Environmental Programme, 1971;
- EEC - Environmental Action Programme, 1971.
Age of the Environment Lecture
Who advocated ‘Big Ecology’?
- Odum Bros - uses electric modelling to show flow of energy through a system. Funded by US atomic agency.
Age of the Environment Lecture
What did Lyndon Caldwell advocate?
- Urban planner - 1963 - env. Should be governing concept of planning. Concept could unify institutions.
Age of the Environment Lecture
What was concluded in 1959?
- Antarctic Treaty 1959 - region separated as separate sphere for science.
Age of the Environment Lecture
What did C.P. Snow state in his book, Two Cultures?
- C.P. Snow - Two Cultures - humanities were too dominant in politics, scientists had the ‘future in their bones’
Age of the Environment Lecture
What was 1957?
- International Geophysical Year
- Influenced rise of Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in the UK.
Age of the Environment Lecture
What did Jacob Darwin Hamblin argue?
- Jacob Darwin Hamblin - US military and the environment - weaponising (climate mod., nukes and Agent Orange), fighting in a global conflict. 3/4 of all meteorologists work for USAF.
Age of the Environment Lecture
How were UN projects received?
- Mixed effect. African nations saw the UN as a form of neocolonialism.
Age of the Environment Lecture
What two major UN organisations emerged in 1948?
- At the same time as the formation of UN Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Utilisation of Resources (UNSCCUR), UNESCO emerged under Julian Huxley, 1948.
Age of the Environment Lecture
What were the USAA interested in during the 1950s?
1950s - rise of technofix solutions - weather control - esp. Australian + US military interest.
Age of the Environment Lecture
What did Osborn find in his 1948 ‘Our Plundered Planet’
Less use of stats, talks of ‘living environment as a whole’, humans as a ‘geological force’.
Age of the Environment Lecture
How did Vogt legitimate his findings?
Trained as an ecologist, with connections to likes of Leopold.
Vogt sees the issue as arising from the ignorance of men, rather than industrial society.
⁃ Relies on stats and data.
⁃ ‘Only the biologist ‘sees his role more clearly’.
⁃ We live in one world in an ecological and environmental sense.
Limits and Growth Lecture
What happened on the Kaibab Plateau?
1930s - Kaibab Plateau - removal of wolves saw massive detrimental effects across ecosystem.
Limits and Growth Lecture
What stadial theories emerged in 1946?
1946 - emergence of notion that empires collapsed due to soil erosion - ‘The Hundred Dead Cities of Syria’ - W.C. Lowdermilk -> looking at land through 7000 years. Wanted to determine what caused the failure of the M.E. Breadbasket.
Limits and Growth Lecture
Detail Paul Sears’s contribution
Paul Sears - Deserts of the March - 1935 -> like Carey and Liebig - linked to civilisation as a whole, solution -> applied ecology.
Limits and Growth Lecture
When was the first global soil survey conducted?
Imperial Bureau of Soil Science, 1929 - British Empire - first global survey of soil across world. Imperialism blamed for degradation; drawing on heritage of Liebig
Limits and Growth Lecture
What legislation was introduced to respond to the dust bowl problem?
- Dust Bowl - affected 54% wheatland, 20% idle cropland, 25% farms abandoned by 1936.
- 300m tonnes of dust released into air by 1936.
- Solution - Taylor Grazing Act, 1934 - end of the ‘frontier philosophy’. FDR institutes policy to prevent a ‘manmade Sahara’.