Megaconnections in Environmental Sustainability Through the Twenty-First Century

Author(s):  
Robert Brinkmann
Author(s):  
Alexander Gillespie

The cumulative environmental challenge of sustainable development in the twenty-first century is larger than anything humanity has ever had to deal with in the past. The good news is that solid progress is being reached in the understanding of issues in scientific terms and understanding what needs to be done. The bad news is twofold. First, although many of the environmental problems of earlier centuries are now being confronted, a new generation of difficulties is eclipsing what were the older difficulties. Secondly, much of the progress is being achieved by the wealthier parts of the planet, rather than the developing world. From population growth to climate change to unprecedented habitat and species loss, whether environmental sustainability can be achieved in the twenty-first century is an open question.


Author(s):  
Philip Halliwell ◽  
Sarah Whipple ◽  
Kelly N. Hassel ◽  
Gillian Bowser ◽  
Diane White Husic ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Rabia Nazir

With the advent of industrialization, there are new technological developments going on which have triggered the new researches and fields. Nanotechnology is one such field that is marked as twenty-first century industrial revolution and led to the development of various products that have impacted life in almost every field. Among these fields, nanotechnology has contributed significantly to the environment protection and its remediation by addressing issues that have been threatening the human for long. In this regard, several nanomaterials have been synthesized and many more are still in pipeline. No doubt the field has made great contributions and has bestowed human with various amenities by enhancing atom efficiency, use of fewer chemicals, less energy and other resource, reduction in waste, providing better materials, and technology for environmental applications promising environmental sustainability, however there are certain negative impacts that still need to be explored.


Race & Class ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-84
Author(s):  
Michael Kwet

The twenty-first century global economy is largely driven by Big Tech and, more broadly, digital capitalism. This is a global phenomenon, with US power at the centre preying on global markets through the process of digital colonialism. Mainstream antidotes to the ills of Big Tech and digital capitalism are US/Eurocentric and revolve around a collection of liberal and progressive capitalist reforms, including anti-trust, limited privacy laws, unionisation of Big Tech, algorithmic discrimination and content moderation – all of which are conceived within a capitalist framework which ignores or neglects digital colonialism and the twenty-first century ecological crisis, despite their analytical and moral centrality to contemporary political economy. This author argues that a combination of political, economic and social alternatives based on a Digital Tech Deal are needed to turn the tide against digital colonisation, entailing the socialisation of knowledge and infrastructure; passing socialist laws that support digital socialism; and new narratives about the tech ecosystem. These solutions are to be nested within an anti-colonial, eco-socialist framework that embraces degrowth to ensure environmental sustainability and socioeconomic justice.


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