Global environmental politics Charting the domain Paul G. Harris

Week 1 Global environmental politics Charting the domain Paul G. Harris The global natural environment is facing an alarming decline, with worsening environmental indicators across most regions. In many developing nations, air and water pollution have reached critical levels, forcing millions to live with contaminated resources. Regional issues, such as acid rain in East Asia and the spread of the “Asian brown cloud,” have cross-border impacts, with pollution now extending across the Pacific.Overfishing has depleted ocean life, and pollutants from land have created oceanic dead zones, with coral reefs shrinking and biodiversity at risk.Climate change amplifies these issues, driving global temperatures up and causing extreme weather, droughts, floods, and rising sea levels. These shifts disproportionately affect poorer, low-lying regions that are least equipped to respond. Habitat destruction and deforestation continue at an alarming pace, especially in South America and Southeast Asia, undermining biodiversity and natural resources crucial to environmental stability.The role of politics is pivotal; environmental challenges often result from governments' failures to implement effective, sustainable policies, often prioritizing economic interests over environmental concerns. However, successful treaties—such as those protecting the ozone layer— demonstrate that cooperation among states, along with efforts by NGOs and some businesses, can yield positive environmental impacts. Effective global environmental governance requires that these actors consistently prioritize long-term environmental goals, integrating sustainability into broader policy areas like energy, food security, and social justice. Global environmental politics addresses these challenges by analyzing the global- scale causes of ecological decline and developing collaborative solutions.It emphasizes that addressing environmental problems requires multi-level cooperation and policies that transcend national borders. As environmental changes impact everyone—through air quality, water security, and climate stability—understanding and engaging with environmental politics is critical for fostering a sustainable future for all societies and ecosystems.Joachim Radkau Nature and Power In de introducties bij de Japanse en Turkse edities van Nature and Power bespreekt de auteur hoe een wereldwijde milieubenadering ons nieuwe inzichten kan geven in de geschiedenis van beide landen. Hoewel Japan en 1 / 4

Turkije geografisch en cultureel ver uit elkaar liggen, is er een opvallende gelijkenis in hun geschiedenis. In Japan werd de late Edo-periode (17e tot 19e eeuw) door de hervormers van de Meiji-periode gezien als een tijd van stagnatie en achteruitgang. Op een vergelijkbare manier beschouwden de volgelingen van Kemal Atatürk de latere Ottomaanse periode als een periode van verval.Toch kunnen deze perioden vanuit een milieuperspectief anders worden bekeken. Zo had Japan in de Edo-periode een geavanceerde rijstteelt en waren er tekenen van duurzaam bosbeheer vanaf de 18e eeuw. De historicus Conrad D. Totman toonde aan dat deze periode van bosbeheer zelfs een nieuw inzicht biedt in de Japanse geschiedenis, waarbij duurzame landbouw- en bosbouwtechnieken uit zowel het Westen als het Oosten in het voor-moderne Japan lijken samen te komen.Voor de Ottomaanse ambtenaren in Istanbul was de vruchtbare Nijldelta een "paradijs op aarde," en ze zouden deze geoptimaliseerde irrigatie het liefst ook in Anatolië toepassen. Toch, gezien de ecologische problemen die grootschalige irrigatie in een droge regio met zich mee kan brengen, was hun terughoudendheid hierin uiteindelijk gunstig. Volgens historicus Alan Mikhail markeerde het rond 1800 opgezette project van een "tweede Nijl" in Egypte, bedoeld als kunstmatige irrigatie, het begin van de overgang naar modernisering onder westerse invloed en het verval van een tot dan toe duurzaam economisch systeem.Door te laten zien hoe de adoptie van moderne Westerse vooruitgangs- en ontwikkelingsconcepten vaak mislukte of zelfs schadelijk was, kan een milieuhistorische benadering niet-westerse landen helpen ecologische lessen uit hun eigen geschiedenis te halen. In veel niet-westerse regio’s is watervoorziening namelijk het belangrijkste milieuprobleem dat alle andere uitdagingen overschaduwt.The central argument of Nature and Power is that the relationship between humanity and nature is complex, involving both cooperation with and control over natural resources. The book explores how power dynamics shape environmental history, with examples of governments using both top-down and grassroots strategies to manage natural resources like forests, water, and pasture. This management often reveals both success and failure, as seen in attempts to balance human needs with environmental sustainability. The book critiques oversimplified narratives, such as Garrett Hardin’s "Tragedy of the Commons ," and highlights Elinor Ostrom’s findings that local governance can successfully protect resources. However, global issues, like climate change and deforestation, present challenges that require both local and centralized efforts. Nature and Power suggests that environmental sustainability can 2 / 4

be achieved through an informed balance of power at various levels.Rather than adopting a strictly pessimistic or optimistic outlook, the book promotes "possibilism"—a realistic approach that sees potential in both individual action and institutional power for addressing environmental challenges.

4.4.2 Understanding and Controlling the Environment in Modern History

(ca. 1800–1900) Hans Schouwenburg, Jiří Janáč, Sophie Lange, and Juan Pan-Montojo In the 19th century, Europe experienced a shift in how society perceived and interacted with the natural world, largely due to the pressures of resource scarcity, industrialization, and colonial expansion .European thinkers began to view nature as an interconnected system that needed careful management to ensure its sustainability. This era laid the groundwork for modern environmental discourse by fostering ideas about ecological limits, sustainable resource use, and the close ties between the economy, society, and environment.Dual Perspectives on Nature Two main perspectives on nature emerged, described by environmental historian Donald Worster as the imperial and arcadian traditions.The imperial view, influenced by thinkers like Francis Bacon, saw humans as rulers over nature, authorized to control and exploit natural resources to benefit human progress. This approach encouraged active state intervention in resource management, laying the foundation for an industrial, human-centered approach to nature.In contrast, the arcadian view, inspired by naturalists like Gilbert White, emphasized a humble, moral relationship with nature, where humans were stewards rather than exploiters . This philosophy gained momentum as industrialization revealed environmental consequences, and it inspired early conservation movements.Resource Management and Political Power During this period, the conceptual divide between humans and nature deepened, with science and technology often reinforcing the view of nature as a resource to be controlled. Natural scientists in Europe catalogued plants, animals, minerals, and territories, creating 3 / 4

classifications like Carl Linnaeus’s Systema Naturae to categorize species.This approach extended to chemistry with Antoine Lavoisier’s discovery of elements like oxygen and carbon, which provided a new understanding of natural processes and supported the industrial use of natural resources.This scientific momentum spurred state-led efforts to manage and exploit natural resources, especially forests. The high demand for timber led to forestry sciences, starting with Hans Carl von Carlowitz’s Sylvicultura oeconomica, which emphasized “sustainable” forestry practices. Forestry officers were tasked with converting diverse forests into uniform tree plantations, which improved fiscal revenues but often criminalized traditional peasant practices and harmed local biodiversity.Industrialization and Environmental Impact The industrial revolution, marked by new energy sources like coal and technological advances such as steam engines, significantly altered the environment. The expansion of industries like British cotton factories, German steel production, and chemical plants polluted rivers and air, impacting both human health and ecosystems. Dense urban areas became hotbeds for diseases, spurring advancements in public health, such as the adoption of germ theory and the creation of sewer systems. Environmental legislation, like Britain’s Alkali Acts, began addressing industrial pollution, although similar laws emerged in other countries only after the 1918–1939 interwar period.Conservation Movements and the Emergence of the Anthropocene Concept The environmental degradation observed in European colonies fueled conservation efforts in places like India and South Africa, where forest and wildlife reserves were established. These imperial conservation practices later influenced conservation movements in Europe itself, where urbanization and industrial pollution drove citizens to seek refuge in nature and promote wildlife and landscape protection.By the late 19th century, scientists were recognizing humanity's influence on natural systems on a geological scale, foreshadowing the idea of the Anthropocene—a proposed geological epoch where humans play a dominant role in shaping the environment. Figures like Svante Arrhenius even warned about the effects of industrial emissions on global warming, and geologists later formalized this concept, debating whether the Anthropocene began with colonialism, the industrial revolution, or the post-1945 atomic era.

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