Green Political Theory

Ecologism or green political theory is the most recent of schools of political thinking. On the one hand, it focuses on issues that are extremely old in politics and philosophical inquiry – such as the relationship between the human and nonhuman worlds, the moral status of animals, what is the ‘good life’, and the ethical and political regulation of technological innovation. Yet on the other, it is also characterised as dealing with some specifically contemporary issues such as the economic and political implications of climate change, peak oil, overconsumption, resource competition and conflicts, and rising levels of global and national inequalities. It is also an extremely broad school of political thought covering a wide variety of concerns, contains a number of distinct sub-schools of green thought (here sharing a similarity with other political ideologies) and combines normative and empirical scientific elements in a unique manner making it distinctive from other political ideologies.

MacIntyre and Havel as green political thinkers: Unreasonable thinking in turbulent times

Purpose This chapter explores the ideas of Alasdair MacIntyre and Vaclav Havel and what these two thinkers can contribute to green political theory. Design/methodology/approach This chapter includes examination of some of the key works of Havel and MacIntyre and analysis of these works from the point of view of green political theory. Findings The section ‘Havel and the Imperative to “Live in Truth”: Dissent and Green Politics’ explores Havel’s thought with a particular emphasis on his ethicised notion of political action and critique (‘living in truth’) and his focus on the centrality of dissent (both intellectually and in practice) as central to political critique and action. The section ‘MacIntyre as a Green Thinker: Vulnerability in Political and Moral Theory’ offers an overview of MacIntyre interpreted as a putative green thinker, with a particular emphasis on his ideas of dependence and vulnerability. The Conclusion attempts to draw some common themes together from both thinkers in terms of what they have to offer contemporary green political thought. Research limitations/implications What is presented here is introductory, ground clearing and therefore necessarily suggestive (as well as under-developed). That is, it is the start of a new area of exploration rather than an analysis based on any exhaustive and comprehensive knowledge of both thinkers. Practical implications This chapter offers some initial lines of exploration for scholars interested in the overlap between green thinking and the work of Havel and MacIntyre. Originality/value This is the first exploration of the connections between the works of Havel and MacIntyre and green political theory.

Relative Effects of Gamete Compatibility and Hydrodynamics on Fertilization in the Green Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

Intraspecific variation in gamete compatibility among male/female pairs causes variation in the concentration of sperm required to achieve equivalent fertilization levels. Gamete compatibility is therefore potentially an important factor controlling mating success. Many broadcast-spawning marine invertebrates, however, also live in a dynamic environment where hydrodynamic conditions can affect the concentration of sperm reaching eggs during spawning. Thus flow conditions may moderate the effects of gamete compatibility on fertilization. Using the green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis as a model system, we assessed the relative effects of gamete compatibility (the concentration of sperm required to fertilize 50% of the eggs in specific male/female pairs; F50) and the root-mean-square of total velocity (urms; 0.01-0.11 m s(-1)) on fertilization in four locations near a spawning female (water column, wake eddy, substratum, and aboral surface) in both unidirectional and oscillatory flows. Percent fertilization decreased significantly with increasing urms at all locations and both flow regimes. However, although gamete compatibility varied by almost 1.5 orders of magnitude, it was not a significant predictor of fertilization for most combinations of position and flow. The notable exception was a significant effect of gamete compatibility on fertilization on the aboral surface under unidirectional flow. Our results suggest that selection on variation in gamete compatibility may be strongest in eggs fertilized on the aboral surface of sea urchins and that hydrodynamic conditions may add environmental noise to selection outcomes.

Quantum annealing of an ising spin-glass by Green's function Monte Carlo

We present an implementation of quantum annealing (QA) via lattice Green's function Monte Carlo (GFMC), focusing on its application to the Ising spin glass in transverse field. In particular, we study whether or not such a method is more effective than the path-integral Monte Carlo- (PIMC) based QA, as well as classical simulated annealing (CA), previously tested on the same optimization problem. We identify the issue of importance sampling, i.e., the necessity of possessing reasonably good (variational) trial wave functions, as the key point of the algorithm. We performed GFMC-QA runs using such a Boltzmann-type trial wave function, finding results for the residual energies that are qualitatively similar to those of CA (but at a much larger computational cost), and definitely worse than PIMC-QA. We conclude that, at present, without a serious effort in constructing reliable importance sampling variational wave functions for a quantum glass, GFMC-QA is not a true competitor of PIMC-QA.

Green Media: The Future of Wireless Multimedia Networks:Guest Editorial

By 2015, with the proliferation of wireless multimedia applications and services (e.g., mobile TV, video on demand, online video repositories, immersive video interaction, peer to peer video streaming, and interactive video gaming), and any-time anywhere communication, the number of smartphones and tablets will exceed 6.5 billion as the most common web access devices. Data volumes in wireless multimedia data-intensive applications and mobile web services are projected to increase by a factor of 10 every five years, associated with a 20 percent increase in energy consumption, 80 percent of which is multimedia traffic related. In turn, multimedia energy consumption is rising at 16 percent per year, doubling every six years. It is estimated that energy costs alone account for as much as half of the annual operating expenditure. This has prompted concerted efforts by major operators to drastically reduce carbon emissions by up to 50 percent over the next 10 years. Clearly, there is an urgent need for new disruptive paradigms of green media to bridge the gap between wireless technologies and multimedia applications.

Citizenship and (Un)Sustainability: A Green Republican Perspective

This chapter explores some of the connections (causal and other) between the decline in active citizenship, the displacement of citizenship by consumer identities and interests, and the shift to a transactional mode of democratic politics and how and in what ways these are connected with “actually existing unsustainability.” It proposes an account of “green republican citizenship” as an appropriate theory and practice of establishing a link between the practices of democracy and the processes of democratization in the transition from unsustainability. The chapter begins from the (not uncontroversial) position that debt-based consumer capitalism (and especially its more recent neoliberal incarnation) is incompatible with a version of democratic politics and associated norms and practices of green citizenship required for a transition from unsustainable development. It outlines an explicitly “green republican” conception of citizenship as an appropriate way to integrate democratic citizenship and creation of a more sustainable political and socio-ecological order.

Green Political Economy: beyond orthodox undifferentiated economic growth as a permanent feature of the economy

This chapter outlines the main features of green political economy and the principal ways in which it differs from dominant mainstream or orthodox neoclassical economics. Neoclassical economics is critiqued on the grounds of denying its normative and ideological commitments in its false presentation of itself as ‘objective’ and ‘value neutral’. It is also critiqued for its ecologically irrational commitment to the imperative of orthodox economic growth as a permanent feature of the economy, compromising its ability to offer realistic or normatively compelling guides to how we might make the transition to a sustainable economy. Green political economy is presented as an alternative or heterodox form of economic thinking but one which explicitly expresses its normative/ideological value bases (hence it represents a return to ‘political economy’, the origins of modern economics). Green political economy also challenges the commitment to undifferentiated economic growth as a permanent objective of the human economy. In its place, green political economy promotes ‘economic security’ as a better objective for a sustainable, post-growth economy. The latter includes the transition to a low-carbon energy economy, and is also one which maximises quality of life (as oppose to formal employment, income and wealth), and actively seeks to lower socio-economic inequality. Green political economy views orthodox economic growth as having passed the threshold in most ‘advanced’ capitalist societies beyond which it has undermined quality of life and at best manages rather than reduces socially and ecologically damaging inequalities.

Coexistence of congeneric native and invasive species: The case of the green algae Codium spp. in northwestern Spain

We examined the patterns of distribution and abundance, and reproductive traits (presence of gametophytes and size at time of reproduction) in the invasive Codium fragile ssp. fragile and the native C. tomentosum and C. vermilara on intertidal habitats of NW Spain at two dates. All three species coexist in the locations and habitats studied, although abundances were low. We found a greater proportion of C. fragile ssp. fragile towards the east of the Cantabrian coast and on upper levels on the shore, where conditions are more stressful. The proportion of thalli bearing gametangia in C. fragile ssp. fragile was greater than in the native species in all habitats. The presence of gametangia was size-dependent for all species, with the invasive species maturing at a smaller size, which combined with the previous features, might confer competitive advantages to this species over the native species. We also demonstrated that molecular analyses are necessary for the correct identification of C. fragile subspecies.

Resonantly Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization Spectrum of the Neutral Green Fluorescent Protein Chromophore

The photophysics of the green fluorescent protein is governed by the electronic structure of the chromophore at the heart of its β-barrel protein structure. We present the first two-color, resonance-enhanced, multiphoton ionization spectrum of the isolated neutral chromophore in vacuo with supporting electronic structure calculations. We find the absorption maximum to be 3.65 ± 0.05 eV (340 ± 5 nm), which is blue-shifted by 0.5 eV (55 nm) from the absorption maximum of the protein in its neutral form. Our results show that interactions between the chromophore and the protein have a significant influence on the electronic structure of the neutral chromophore during photoabsorption and provide a benchmark for the rational design of novel chromophores as fluorescent markers or photomanipulators.

The impact of interventions to promote physical activity in urban green space: A systematic review and recommendations for future research

Evidence is mounting on the association between the built environment and physical activity (PA) with a call for intervention research. A broader approach which recognizes the role of supportive environments that can make healthy choices easier is required. A systematic review was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of interventions to encourage PA in urban green space. Five databases were searched independently by two reviewers using search terms relating to 'physical activity', 'urban green space' and 'intervention' in July 2014. Eligibility criteria included: (i) intervention to encourage PA in urban green space which involved either a physical change to the urban green space or a PA intervention to promote use of urban green space or a combination of both; and (ii) primary outcome of PA. Of the 2405 studies identified, 12 were included. There was some evidence (4/9 studies showed positive effect) to support built environment only interventions for encouraging use and increasing PA in urban green space. There was more promising evidence (3/3 studies showed positive effect) to support PAprograms or PA programs combined with a physical change to the built environment, for increasing urban green space use and PAof users. Recommendations for future research include the need for longer term follow-up post-intervention, adequate control groups, sufficiently powered studies, and consideration of the social environment, which was identified as a significantly under-utilized resource in this area. Interventions that involve the use of PA programs combined with a physical change to the built environment are likely to have a positive effect on PA. Robust evaluations of such interventions are urgently required. The findings provide a platform to inform the design, implementation and evaluation of future urban green space and PAintervention research.

Green prospects in Greece

The radical left-wing Syriza and the Green party Ecologists Greens/Oikologoi Prasinoi (EG) have been seen as representatives of the left-libertarian/new politics party families in Greece. These type of parties are marked by a commitment to new politics issues such as gender and racial equality, peace and ecology. In countries where two party formations of this kind are in competition to attract a very similar clientele and one of them is electorally significant, it is unlikely for the other to achieve autonomous electoral success. This is a well-known fact that has penetrated discussions on the strategic orientation of both parties since their first electoral participation in 2004 (only European parliament elections for EG).

Azepanium-based ionic liquids as green electrolytes for high voltage supercapacitors

This work provides a first-time-study of Azepanium-based ionic liquids (ILs) as electrolyte components for electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs). Herein, two Azepanium-based ILs, namely N-methyl, N-butyl-azepanium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Azp(14)TFSI) and N-methyl, N-hexyl-azepanium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Azp(16)TFSI) were compared with the established IL N-butyl, N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Pyr(14)TFSI) in terms of viscosity, conductivity, thermal stability and electrochemical behavior in EDLC systems. The ILs' operative potentials were found to be comparable, leading to operative voltages up to 3.5 V without significant electrolyte degradation. 

Recombinant Subgroup B Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Expressing Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein Efficiently Replicates in Primary Human Cells and Is Virulent in Cotton Rats

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is the most important viral cause of severe respiratory tract disease in infants. Two subgroups (A and B) have been identified, which cocirculate during, or alternate between, yearly epidemics and cause indistinguishable disease. Existing in vitro and in vivo models of HRSV focus almost exclusively on subgroup A viruses. Here, a recombinant (r) subgroup B virus (rHRSV(B05)) was generated based on a consensus genome sequence obtained directly from an unpassaged clinical specimen from a hospitalized infant. An additional transcription unit containing the gene encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was introduced between the phosphoprotein and matrix genes (position 5) of the genome to generate rHRSV(B05)EGFP(5). The recombinant viruses replicated efficiently in both HEp-2 cells and in well-differentiated normal human bronchial cells grown at air-liquid interface. Intranasal infection of cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) resulted in high numbers of EGFP(+) cells in epithelia of the nasal septum and conchae. When administered in a relatively large inoculum volume, the virus also replicated efficiently in bronchiolar epithelial cells and spread extensively in both the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Virus replication was not observed in ciliated epithelial cells of the trachea. This is the first virulent rHRSV strain with the genetic composition of a currently circulating wild-type virus. In vivo tracking of infected cells by means of EGFP fluorescence in the absence of cytopathic changes increases the sensitivity of virus detection in HRSV pathogenesis studies.

IMPORTANCE

Virology as a discipline has depended on monitoring cytopathic effects following virus culture in vitro. However, wild-type viruses isolated from patients often do not cause significant changes to infected cells, necessitating blind passage. This can lead to genetic and phenotypic changes and the generation of high-titer, laboratory-adapted viruses with diminished virulence in animal models of disease. To address this, we determined the genome sequence of an unpassaged human respiratory syncytial virus from a sample obtained directly from an infected infant, assembled a molecular clone, and recovered a wild-type recombinant virus. Addition of a gene encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein allowed this wild-type virus to be tracked in primary human cells and living animals in the absence of significant cytopathic effects. Imaging of fluorescent cells proved to be a highly valuable tool for monitoring the spread of virus and may help improve assays for evaluating novel intervention strategies.