Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
432
result(s) for
"Clark, Brett"
Sort by:
Are the Economy and the Environment Decoupling? A Comparative International Study, 1960–2005
Ecological modernization theory posits that even though economic development harms the environment, the magnitude of the harmful link decreases over the course of development. In contrast, the treadmill of production theory argues that the strong relationship between environmental harms and economic development will remain constant or possibly increase through time. To evaluate these competing propositions, interactions between economic development and time are used in cross-national panel analyses of three measures of carbon dioxide emissions. The results vary across the three outcomes as well as between developed and less developed countries, providing mixed support for both theoretical perspectives. The authors conclude by discussing how both theories could benefit from engaging contemporary research concerning changes within the transnational organization of production and the structure of international trade and how these global shifts influence environment/economic development relationships. Adapted from the source document.
Journal Article
Even for the environment, context matters! States, households, and residential energy consumption
This study adopts a multi-level approach to examine the extent to which state- and household-level factors shape residential energy consumption in the United States, focusing on efficiency improvement and affluence. Analyzing the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, state-level energy efficiency data from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and other sources, we find that state context significantly influences energy consumption at the household level. Households in states scoring high on energy efficiency consume significantly less residential energy than those in states scoring low on the measure. At the household level, the analysis reveals mixed relationships between investment in energy efficiency technologies and residential energy consumption, as some measures of efficiency technology are negatively related to residential energy consumption, others are positively related to it. In regard to affluence, state-level measures do not emerge as significant predictors of residential energy consumption. At the household level, however, affluence drives residential energy consumption, which, in turn, is a significant driver of carbon dioxide emissions. Our study makes an important contribution to the social scientific literature on energy consumption, illuminating distinct relationships at different levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that simultaneously examines the impacts of factors measured at both the household (micro) and state (meso) levels.
Journal Article
An Essential Role for Katanin p80 and Microtubule Severing in Male Gamete Production
Katanin is an evolutionarily conserved microtubule-severing complex implicated in multiple aspects of microtubule dynamics. Katanin consists of a p60 severing enzyme and a p80 regulatory subunit. The p80 subunit is thought to regulate complex targeting and severing activity, but its precise role remains elusive. In lower-order species, the katanin complex has been shown to modulate mitotic and female meiotic spindle dynamics and flagella development. The in vivo function of katanin p80 in mammals is unknown. Here we show that katanin p80 is essential for male fertility. Specifically, through an analysis of a mouse loss-of-function allele (the Taily line), we demonstrate that katanin p80, most likely in association with p60, has an essential role in male meiotic spindle assembly and dissolution and the removal of midbody microtubules and, thus, cytokinesis. Katanin p80 also controls the formation, function, and dissolution of a microtubule structure intimately involved in defining sperm head shaping and sperm tail formation, the manchette, and plays a role in the formation of axoneme microtubules. Perturbed katanin p80 function, as evidenced in the Taily mouse, results in male sterility characterized by decreased sperm production, sperm with abnormal head shape, and a virtual absence of progressive motility. Collectively these data demonstrate that katanin p80 serves an essential and evolutionarily conserved role in several aspects of male germ cell development.
Journal Article
The Relationship between National-Level Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Population Size: An Assessment of Regional and Temporal Variation, 1960–2005
This study examines the regional and temporal differences in the statistical relationship between national-level carbon dioxide emissions and national-level population size. The authors analyze panel data from 1960 to 2005 for a diverse sample of nations, and employ descriptive statistics and rigorous panel regression modeling techniques. Initial descriptive analyses indicate that all regions experienced overall increases in carbon emissions and population size during the 45-year period of investigation, but with notable differences. For carbon emissions, the sample of countries in Asia experienced the largest percent increase, followed by countries in Latin America, Africa, and lastly the sample of relatively affluent countries in Europe, North America, and Oceania combined. For population size, the sample of countries in Africa experienced the largest percent increase, followed countries in Latin America, Asia, and the combined sample of countries in Europe, North America, and Oceania. Findings for two-way fixed effects panel regression elasticity models of national-level carbon emissions indicate that the estimated elasticity coefficient for population size is much smaller for nations in Africa than for nations in other regions of the world. Regarding potential temporal changes, from 1960 to 2005 the estimated elasticity coefficient for population size decreased by 25% for the sample of Africa countries, 14% for the sample of Asia countries, 6.5% for the sample of Latin America countries, but remained the same in size for the sample of countries in Europe, North America, and Oceania. Overall, while population size continues to be the primary driver of total national-level anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, the findings for this study highlight the need for future research and policies to recognize that the actual impacts of population size on national-level carbon emissions differ across both time and region.
Journal Article
RBM5 Is a Male Germ Cell Splicing Factor and Is Required for Spermatid Differentiation and Male Fertility
Alternative splicing of precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) is common in mammalian cells and enables the production of multiple gene products from a single gene, thus increasing transcriptome and proteome diversity. Disturbance of splicing regulation is associated with many human diseases; however, key splicing factors that control tissue-specific alternative splicing remain largely undefined. In an unbiased genetic screen for essential male fertility genes in the mouse, we identified the RNA binding protein RBM5 (RNA binding motif 5) as an essential regulator of haploid male germ cell pre-mRNA splicing and fertility. Mice carrying a missense mutation (R263P) in the second RNA recognition motif (RRM) of RBM5 exhibited spermatid differentiation arrest, germ cell sloughing and apoptosis, which ultimately led to azoospermia (no sperm in the ejaculate) and male sterility. Molecular modelling suggested that the R263P mutation resulted in compromised mRNA binding. Within the adult mouse testis, RBM5 localises to somatic and germ cells including spermatogonia, spermatocytes and round spermatids. Through the use of RNA pull down coupled with microarrays, we identified 11 round spermatid-expressed mRNAs as putative RBM5 targets. Importantly, the R263P mutation affected pre-mRNA splicing and resulted in a shift in the isoform ratios, or the production of novel spliced transcripts, of most targets. Microarray analysis of isolated round spermatids suggests that altered splicing of RBM5 target pre-mRNAs affected expression of genes in several pathways, including those implicated in germ cell adhesion, spermatid head shaping, and acrosome and tail formation. In summary, our findings reveal a critical role for RBM5 as a pre-mRNA splicing regulator in round spermatids and male fertility. Our findings also suggest that the second RRM of RBM5 is pivotal for appropriate pre-mRNA splicing.
Journal Article
The promises and risks of relying on renewable energies in the fight against climate change
The centuries-long atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gases and the concomitant contemporary climate crisis are unequivocally human-induced. Conscientious human countermeasures are, therefore, needed to address this situation and usher in long-term sustainability. Transitioning to renewable energy sources is currently one of the major policy efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide. Thus, it is necessary to ask: is this solution sufficient? Based on a thorough consultation with the existing literature, including our own work, we argue that widespread adoption of renewable energy sources can contribute to reducing carbon emissions, but this strategy has additional risks and is hardly sufficient, given the scope and scale of social changes necessary to adequately address the crisis. In addition, there are non-ignorable negative social and environmental consequences related to renewable energy transition, which must also be addressed as part of policy and social change. These include such social problems as exacerbation of inequality within and between countries and disproportionalities in exposure to renewable energy-related environmental problems, and such environmental problems as disruption of riverine ecosystems from river damming and pollution related to lithium mining and processing. These consequences affect communities and environments across the world.
Journal Article
Power, proximity, and physiology: does income inequality and racial composition amplify the impacts of air pollution on life expectancy in the United States?
This study advances research at the intersection of environmental degradation, social stratification, and population health in the United States. Expanding the theoretical principles of power, proximity, and physiology, we hypothesize that the harmful effect of fine particulate matter on life expectancy is greater in states with higher levels of income inequality and larger black populations. To test our hypothesis, we use two-way fixed effects regression analysis to estimate the effect of a three-way interaction between fine particulate matter, income share of the top ten percent, and the percent of the population that is black on state-level average life expectancy for all US states and the District of Columbia (2000-2014). The findings support our hypothesis: the estimated effect of the three-way interaction on average life expectancy is negative and statistically significant, net of various socioeconomic and demographic controls. Using post-estimation techniques, we visually illustrate that the harmful effect of fine particulate matter on life expectancy is especially pronounced in states with both very high levels of income inequality and very large black populations. We conclude by summarizing the theoretical and substantive implications of our findings, the limitations of the study, and potential next steps in this evolving area of interdisciplinary research.
Journal Article
An Ecological-Marxist Response to the Half-Earth Project
The deepening biodiversity crisis in the Anthropocene has led to polarised debates within the conservation movement regarding its objectives and guiding principles. Within this intellectual milieu, the Half-Earth project’s call to enclose at least half the planet within protected areas has been defended as an ecocentric approach that overrides the concerns of anthropocentric ‘critical social scientists’. One group of advocates has even attacked such scientists as ‘neo-Marxists’ dedicated to the ‘mastery’ of nature. To steer the debate in a more constructive direction, we offer an ecosocialist response to the ecocentric advocacy of the Half-Earth project, specifically from the perspective of Marx’s theory of metabolic rift. While we are sympathetic to the project’s motivation and admire its audacity, we note important deficiencies in the ways the moral imperative has been asserted against social justice, and in the problematic comprehension of the underlying drivers of biodiversity loss, which threaten to undermine its objectives. Nonetheless, opposition to capitalist instrumentalism serves as an important point of possible convergence between conservation and anti-capitalist struggle. Further engagement with the ecological-Marxist critique of capitalism could strengthen efforts to address the biodiversity crisis while resolving important shortcomings in the Half-Earth project.
Journal Article