News media and the logic of commerce: The rising tide of “churnalism”

In his groundbreaking and highly influential book first published in 1983, Benedict Anderson suggests that nations are socially constructed and imagined into existence. The title of the book is now just about a cliché: Imagined Communities.
One of the major contributing factors in the emergence of nations and nationalism in the era of the industrial revolution, [...]

What is the true meaning of climate change?

At national and international levels climate change policy is in a state of almost total paralysis. There is much talk, but very little substantive action.
In part, this paralysis stems from the different ways in which society makes sense of the phenomenon of climate change. Naming and characterising these competing frames is enormously useful in understanding [...]

Shell to Sea campaign vindicated

In February 2008 I wrote about the 10-year long campaign in Co. Mayo, Ireland, opposing pipeline construction in relation to Shell’s development of the Corrib gas field.
It is great to be able to report that the campaign has been vindicated by a recent decision of An Bord Pleanala (The Planning Board). The Bord describes the [...]

Growth, inequality, and the environment – evidence from the UK

Measuring fossil resource inequality – A case study for the UK between 1968 and 2000 (Eleni Papathanasopoulou and Tim Jackson, Ecological Economics, 2009, 1213-1225)
In this paper the authors examine inequalities in fossil fuel use among different income groups in the United Kingdom between 1968 and 2000. They find that fossil fuel use inequalities have risen [...]