New on our blog!

From the Pathology of Plenty to Carbon Metastasis

Lys Kulamadayil's The Pathology of Plenty: Natural Resources in International Law (TPP) offers a fundamental reconstruction of how international law is constitutive of – rather than merely responsive to – the uneven distribution of both the benefits and harms of natural resource extraction. The book demonstrates th

#NaturalResources

https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/from-the-pathology-of-plenty-to-carbon-metastasis/

New on our blog!

Unveiling Hidden Challenges of Resource Wealth

This piece engages with Lys Kulamadayil’s analysis of the so-called “pathology of plenty” by focusing on two aspects that emerge as particularly significant in the governance of natural resources. On the one hand, it examines the role of extractive contracts and the challenges raised by their opacity and li

#NaturalResources #Transparency

https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/unveiling-hidden-challenges-of-resource-wealth/

New on our blog!

Lys Kulamadayil, The Pathology of Plenty: Natural Resources in International Law

Lys Kulamadayil’s The Pathology of Plenty gives a critical account of the role of international law in governing natural resources, primarily those of the Global South. While readers might be familiar with various existing accounts of the issue of p

#NaturalResources #TWAIL

https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/lys-kulamadayil-the-pathology-of-plenty-natural-resources-in-international-law/

New on our blog!

Introducing the Book Review Symposium on ‘The Pathology of Plenty: Natural Resources in International Law’

The current moment in West Asia is marked by a profound and escalating destabilization. Entire urban areas are being flattened through sustained bombardment. This material destruction is accompanied by

#NaturalResources

https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/introducing-the-book-review-symposium-on-the-pathology-of-plenty-natural-resources-in-international-law/

This week's #NewBooks at the library: Three more books from the January clearance sale of my employer:
- The Rise of Horses: 55 Million Years of Evolution from Johns Hopkins University Press (one I might just review in tandem with a more recent book on horse evolution. At some point.)
- Extraction to Extinction: Rethinking our Relationship with Earth's Natural Resources from @sarabandbooks.
- The Good Ancestor: How to Think Long Term in a Short-Term World from WH Allen. Somewhere there is a review series brewing about long-term thinking (no, not *that* sort of long-termism!)

#Evolution #Horses #NaturalResources #ResourceExtraction #Environmentalism #Books #Scicomm #Bookstodon @bookstodon

Upcoming #lecture talk at #UVIC.

From #Forests Frayed to Forests Renewed.
April 16, 2026.

Join us April 16, 2026 at the University of Victoria for a thought-provoking talk with keynote speaker Ben Parfitt as he explores, Forests Frayed to Forests Renewed: The Case for Rezoning BC’s Public Lands.

Ben has covered #forestry and natural resource issues in #BritishColumbia since the 1980s both as a journalist and in his previous role as senior public policy analyst with the now-closed Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, BC Office. He is currently a reporter with The Tyee where he covers the forestry and oil and gas industries, among others, and their impacts on critical natural resources like water.

In his talk, Ben will explain the consequences of today’s outdated land use policies and outline how rezoning BC’s public lands can set us on a more desirable course by conserving at-risk primary forests, restore lands scarred by industrialization and support jobs in a refocused, value-oriented forest industry.

Whether you’re an activist, policy maker or someone passionate about environmental preservation this is a talk you won’t want to miss.

University of Victoria – [Lecture Theatre HSD A240]
Tickets: $20
https://bcpolicy.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents%2F35215

#BCpoli #CDNpoli #PublicPolicy #BCForestryReform #StopEcocide #NaturalResources #Degrowth #CarbonFootprint #FossilFuels #environmental #climate #PolicyChange #PolicyReform #WeCantDrinkOil #WeCantBreatheGas #StopDeforestation #WeCantEatDeadForests #YYJ #VictoriaBC

“We’re entering the age of finitude capitalism”

* "There are many states, or “company-states”, which are currently setting up new types of semi-formal colonisation, in various places." Interview with economist Arnaud Orain >>
https://www.philonomist.com/en/interview/were-entering-age-finitude-capitalism

* What kind of capitalism is possible in a world of limited resources? Arnaud Orain
"Adapted to a world of limited resources, this "capitalism of finitude" seeks to privatize and militarize the seas and territories, impose high prices, consolidate resource "silos," and reserve exclusive markets. Drastically reducing our energy consumption is one alternative to this authoritarian capitalism, but the means to protect it remain unclear.' >>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TD7wjURLJM

#FinitePlanet #LandGrabbing #FinitudeCapitalism #resources #energy #NaturalResources #oil #StraitOfHormuz #SeizeTerritories #militarisation #monopoly #predatory #colonisation #conquer #empire #TheLawOfSpoils #MaritimeRoutes #deindustrialisation #CompanyStates #ecology #EnvironmentalLimits #climate #limits #finitude #ConfiscatedWorld

Image: 'Ships of the East India Company at Sea', "A fleet of East Indiamen at sea", Nicholas Pocock, 1803 >>
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_fleet_of_East_Indiamen_at_sea.jpg