Can we understand the role of human behaviour in renewable resource exploitation? To explore this question, we constructed an imaginary island called Lakeland, with a local population catching fish for its livelihood, having the possibility to exploit a goldmine and the option to permit large, foreign trawlers to fish in their waters. Based on an [...]
Climatic changes have always played a role in human history. Often, it resulted from large volcanic eruptions, which caused a decline in temperature with serious impacts on food supply. Slow variations in geological evolution and planetary position played a role too, at (much) longer time scales. All climatic changes and their impacts tended to be [...]
India since the 16 th century Several historical accounts reinforce the impression that large populations of humans were living close to the environment’s carrying capacity and went through periods of severe food shortages and associated violence and hardship. One such a tale is about India since the 16th century; another one is on Russia in [...]
The car as a lock-in The car has gained a dominant position in present-day mobility and transport, not in the least because the costs of pollution, noise, accidents, congestion and use of space are not or only partly internalised. It makes other modes of transport less attractive, not only economically but also regarding other quality [...]
Living on a plane. "Ana-Maria P. is the president of Powerstorm, a US company working on sustainable telecom solutions focused on reducing CO2 emissions in emerging markets. How often do you travel? I basically live on a plane. I recently calculated this and in the last four years, I spent only three months at home…The [...]