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The \u27Big Dry\u27, a prolonged dry period in Australia from 1997 to 2009, seared much of the Murray-Darling Basin region and resulted in large agricultural losses, degraded river systems and increased uncertainty in rural communities... more
The \u27Big Dry\u27, a prolonged dry period in Australia from 1997 to 2009, seared much of the Murray-Darling Basin region and resulted in large agricultural losses, degraded river systems and increased uncertainty in rural communities although climate change in the form of drought is not new to rural Australia (Wei et al . 2012). For many years, generations of Australian farmers and farming communities have battled such climatic extremes. However, the most recent drought event competed with a myriad of changes to their lives and as such, the façade of stoicism has slowly begun to crack. This chapter examines the changes exacerbated by drought occurring in rural Victoria and considers the challenges facing both rural towns and farming families, whose economic future and social well-being are predominantly associated with agriculture. By drawing on locally situated knowledge from case studies of the rural towns of Mildura and Donald, this chapter shows how issues such as reduced wate...
Research Interests: Education, Rural, Drought, Communities, Change, and 6 moreSocial and Behavioral Sciences, Farming, More, Not, Just, and Perspectives
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Research Interests: Geography, Rhetoric, Decision Making, Political Science, Multidisciplinary, and 13 moreWater Management, Water Policy, Water Security, Social Science Research Network, New South Wales, Water Conservation, Local Community, Ethical Issues, Stakeholder, Large Scale, Water Level, Corporation, and Routledge
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There is a continual need to accurately measure and assess particle concentrations in the air. The recent workshop held in Singleton, NSW aimed to highlight this by documenting what is currently known about particle levels in the... more
There is a continual need to accurately measure and assess particle concentrations in the air. The recent workshop held in Singleton, NSW aimed to highlight this by documenting what is currently known about particle levels in the atmosphere in the Upper Hunter. It brought together technical experts and interested stakeholders to exchange information on what is being done and what still needs to be done in improving air quality and environmental management.
There is a continual need to accurately measure and assess particle concentrations in the air. The recent workshop held in Singleton, NSW aimed to highlight this by documenting what is currently known about particle levels in the... more
There is a continual need to accurately measure and assess particle concentrations in the air. The recent workshop held in Singleton, NSW aimed to highlight this by documenting what is currently known about particle levels in the atmosphere in the Upper Hunter. It brought together technical experts and interested stakeholders to exchange information on what is being done and what still needs to be done in improving air quality and environmental management.
Review(s) of: John Dunmore, From Venus to Antarctica: The Life of Durmont D'Urville, Exisle Publishing, Titirangi (Auckland), 2007. ISBN 9780908988716. Hardback, 252pp. A$50 / NZ$50.
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ABSTRACT Between 1994 and 2003, 400 mergers and acquisitions took place globally in the gold mining industry. During this time, the gold price fell to its lowest level since the closing of the Gold Standard in 1972. In response,... more
ABSTRACT Between 1994 and 2003, 400 mergers and acquisitions took place globally in the gold mining industry. During this time, the gold price fell to its lowest level since the closing of the Gold Standard in 1972. In response, exploration budgets were slashed; R&D projects shelved; production halved; and supply from green-fields discoveries dwindled. Many in the industry questioned the future of gold under globalising conditions and began diversifying into other minerals. Some in the industry suggested there would no longer be a role for small to medium gold producers in the future. The research in this book examines what has happened since that prediction in the late 1990s. It also examines the extent to which globalisation as an idea is understood in business circles and how this has filtered through to the global gold mining industry. By Utilising case studies which consider new emerging regions as potential gold sources, and stories gathered from gold producers within the industry, this book should provide mining professionals, geographers, resource managers and students alike with a better understanding of how old-world commodities such as gold, compete in a globalising market place.
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This chapter, drawing on empirical work in New South Wales, discusses the unlikely alliances forming between environmentalists and farmers against the State which seeks to prioritise extractive development over other alternate futures. In... more
This chapter, drawing on empirical work in New South Wales, discusses the unlikely alliances forming between environmentalists and farmers against the State which seeks to prioritise extractive development over other alternate futures. In response to a rise in land use conflicts, the State government has recently sought to silence criticism by tightening the laws which for decades have allowed citizens to seek merit and judicial review of government decision-making around development and planning issues. This move, made in conjunction with amendments to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining, Petroleum Production and Extractive Industries) 2007, has been met with anger and dismay by farmers, environmentalists and concerned citizens alike. Many places that have traditionally been agricultural strongholds now face an uncertain future as strategic planning moves to increase its focus on enabling energy production. Adopting a qualitative case study approach, this chapter highli...
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AbstractThe article discusses the tensions regarding the challenge to balance agriculture with a proposed coal seam gas mine in the in a regional centre in New South Wales, Australia, which revolved around notions of youth and ‘the... more
AbstractThe article discusses the tensions regarding the challenge to balance agriculture with a proposed coal seam gas mine in the in a regional centre in New South Wales, Australia, which revolved around notions of youth and ‘the future'. ‘Youth' as a symbolic category were positioned at the heart of the issues associated with land-use in the region on both sides of the debate. Young people were described throughout the study as an abstract symbol of ‘the future'. How exactly ‘the future' was related to youth as a symbolic category depended largely on participants' perspectives on the proposed Coal Seam Gas (CSG) mining project. For those who supported the CSG project, the figure of youth signified hope of economic invigoration. For those who opposed the CSG project, the loss of landscape for future generations of youth was a key concern due the potential irreversible environmental impacts associated with the extractive industry in the area. We argue ‘youth' becomes a ‘figure' imbued with the region's affective anxieties surrounding land-use change. The concept of affect is developed to aid understanding of the collective and embodied dynamics at play in the differing perspectives on CSG extraction and its impact for the future of Narrabri. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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This article contributes to discussions of place and social change in rural sociology with a focus on the local politics of rural land use. In particular, the article explores the way that one rural place is responding to changes in the... more
This article contributes to discussions of place and social change in rural sociology with a focus on the local politics of rural land use. In particular, the article explores the way that one rural place is responding to changes in the local and regional economy connected with the arrival of extractive industries such as mining and coal seam gas (CSG). The article shows how attitudes towards extractive industries are formed through notions of place and community within broader narratives concerning rurality and global capitalism. The local politics of land use enrols complex and contradictory forms of place attachment into the articulation of competing narratives about rurality, and intervenes in the local social relationships of rural areas. The politics of extraction in rural Australia is therefore situated at the forefront of contemporary economic and cultural changes that are part of the reshaping of place amid the broader dynamics of contemporary global capitalism.
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A decade ago, Woods (2006) suggested that mobilisation in response to development in rural spaces was the result of a redefinition of relations between individuals, communities and the State. This remains true with the rural representing... more
A decade ago, Woods (2006) suggested that mobilisation in response to development in rural spaces was the result of a redefinition of relations between individuals, communities and the State. This remains true with the rural representing a contested site characterised by debates concerning food and fibre, water and energy security. With the recent deployment of new energy technologies in areas traditionally used for agricultural production, increased confrontation and resistance over land-use has forged unlikely alliances between farmers, environmentalists and concerned others, ultimately leading to the rise of a new form of rural citizenship. In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) where resistance to burgeoning coal seam gas operations has become the customary response of many rural communities, environmentalists and concerned others are mobilising in support of farmers, who self-identify as modern-day stewards and are actively working to protect a resource hierarchy of water, land and soil against industries believed to be putting these at risk. Adopting a qualitative case-study approach, this paper examines how residents and supporters in the regional Shire of Narrabri in NSW have responded to what many see as competing land-uses. We argue that values traditionally associated with stewardship and rurality are being revalorised by citizens to actively oppose the visions of the State, which seek to prioritise extractive development over other alternate futures. We contend that this rise in rural relations represents a significant shift in the notion of citizens as
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The practice of natural resource extraction remains a key function of the global economy, and has been the subject of a considerable body of research, across multiple academic disciplines. Growing awareness of the economic, socio-cultural... more
The practice of natural resource extraction remains a key function of the global economy, and has been the subject of a considerable body of research, across multiple academic disciplines. Growing awareness of the economic, socio-cultural and ecological aspects of extractive practices (and their impacts) have also forced change in the way in which this research is conceptualised. Yet, despite conceptual shifts, a lack of engagement with the felt and emotive dimensions of the extractive sector remains striking. As a complex and highly contested industry, acknowledging emotion is crucial to breaking down problematic representations of the sector as a ‘rational’, ‘economic’ and emotionless space. This paper emphasises the need to engage and prioritise emotional and affective registers when thinking about, and representing, the extractive sector. Specifically, this paper explores the role of emotion in problematising approaches to the material across the sector, as well as in unsettling the often taken-for-granted and highly gendered workplace identities that characterise the sector. Finally, this paper will highlight the importance of validating emotion in legitimising important relationships to place that conflict with extractive practices. In essence, this paper calls for more emotionally attuned approaches to the extractive sector, in order to engage with its profoundly emotive dimensions and impacts.
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Research Interests: Human Geography and Area
Climate change in the form of drought is not new to rural Australia, in fact the ‘Big Dry’, a prolonged dry period in Australia from 1997 to 2009, seared much of the Murray-Darling Basin region and resulted in large agricultural losses,... more
Climate change in the form of drought is not new to rural Australia, in fact the ‘Big Dry’, a prolonged dry period in Australia from 1997 to 2009, seared much of the Murray-Darling Basin region and resulted in large agricultural losses, degraded river systems and increased uncertainty in rural communities (Wei, et al 2012). For many years, generations of Australian farmers and farming communities have continually battled against such climatic extremes. However, under the 12-year onslaught and through a myriad of changes to their lives, the façade of stoicism has slowly begun to crack. This chapter examines the changes exacerbated by drought occurring in rural Victoria and considers the challenges facing both the rural town and the farming family, whose economic future and social well-being is predominantly associated with agriculture. By drawing on locally situated knowledge from case studies of the rural towns of Mildura and Donald, this chapter examines how issues such as reduced ...
Between 1994 and 2003, 400 mergers and acquisitions took place globally in the gold mining industry. During this time, the gold price fell to its lowest level since the closing of the Gold Standard in 1972. In response, exploration... more
Between 1994 and 2003, 400 mergers and acquisitions took place globally in the gold mining industry. During this time, the gold price fell to its lowest level since the closing of the Gold Standard in 1972. In response, exploration budgets were slashed; R&D projects shelved; production halved; and supply from green-fields discoveries dwindled. Many in the industry questioned the future of gold under globalising conditions and began diversifying into other minerals. Some in the industry suggested there would no longer be a role for small to medium gold producers in the future. The research in this book examines what has happened since that prediction in the late 1990s. It also examines the extent to which globalisation as an idea is understood in business circles and how this has filtered through to the global gold mining industry. By Utilising case studies which consider new emerging regions as potential gold sources, and stories gathered from gold producers within the industry, thi...
Drought is a natural, recurrent feature of climate change. Some authors suggest, however, that its effects have been exacerbated due to climate change, thus the terms are often linked. Drought occurs in virtually all climatic zones, yet... more
Drought is a natural, recurrent feature of climate change. Some authors suggest, however, that its effects have been exacerbated due to climate change, thus the terms are often linked. Drought occurs in virtually all climatic zones, yet its characteristics vary considerably among regions with some experiencing extreme, prolonged, drying conditions such as Australia and others recording drought if there has been an absence of precipitation for more than 6 days as was the case in Bali, Indonesia, in 1964 (Ponso, 2004). As such, it is important to recognize that the experience of drought can differ significantly between geographic regions and even within the same country. Despite drought occurring naturally for thousands of years, however, there is still no single, universal definition of drought that exists today.
ABSTRACT For more than a decade, nation states globally have been actively engaged in the exploration of unconventional fuel sources such as tight oil, shale gas and coal bed methane. As technology has developed over time, these newer... more
ABSTRACT For more than a decade, nation states globally have been actively engaged in the exploration of unconventional fuel sources such as tight oil, shale gas and coal bed methane. As technology has developed over time, these newer sources of hydrocarbon, once thought economically nonviable, are now offering renewed hope for increased energy security. In Canada, while deposits of shale gas are in development, it is, however, the nation's oil sands that are proving most lucrative. Located in the province of Alberta, oil sands are being touted as the means to make Canada ‘an emerging energy superpower’. While this geopolitical posturing and plans for pipelines through Canada's Arctic North are being welcomed by some, others fear the heavy toll oil sands extraction will make on the environment. In addressing these arguments, this paper tells two stories: one of the development of oil sands through the lens of the peak oil/scarcity debate and the other, of the narratives being utilised by the Canadian government to create a nexus between nation building and securing its Arctic spaces. Both essentially suggest that it is the same factors regionally and globally that are pursuing an agenda where ‘liquid modernity’ has become a reality (Bauman, 2000).
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ABSTRACT For decades, Arctic Alaska has provided US mainland states with plentiful oil supplies. As reserves in the Prudhoe Bay fields decrease, however, the USA has been forced to consider new options to guarantee the nation's... more
ABSTRACT For decades, Arctic Alaska has provided US mainland states with plentiful oil supplies. As reserves in the Prudhoe Bay fields decrease, however, the USA has been forced to consider new options to guarantee the nation's energy security. While debates continue to rage about its reliance on foreign oil, increased prices, consumption levels, and climate change, the USA is now contemplating whether predicted new discoveries might actually allow it to become an exporter rather than importer of oil and gas in the near future. This paper considers the role Arctic Alaska might play in helping secure future US energy security and independence. It also considers what other options exist for securing the State of Alaska's own future post-Prudhoe Bay.
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ABSTRACT Law is a powerful influence on people and place. Law both creates and is created by the relationship between people and place, although it rarely acknowledges this. Law frequently operates as if space does not matter. Law and... more
ABSTRACT Law is a powerful influence on people and place. Law both creates and is created by the relationship between people and place, although it rarely acknowledges this. Law frequently operates as if space does not matter. Law and legal processes, therefore, deserve greater attention from geographers. Legal geography is an emerging field of inquiry that facilitates much-needed attention to the interrelationships among the environment, people and social institutions, including formal laws but also informal rules, norms and lore. Legal geographers seek to make the invisible visible: to bring the law into the frame of geography, and space and place into focus for the law. Both critical and applied in approach, legal geography offers descriptive, analytical and normative insight into economics, justice, property, power, geopolitics, governance and scale. As such it can enrich most areas of geographic inquiry as well as contribute to current policy debates about the regulation of space and place. Legal geography is a way for enlarged appreciations of relationality, materiality, multiscalarity and agency to be used to interrogate and reform the law. This introduction to a special ‘themed paper’ section of Geographical Research provides a window on legal geography scholarship, including its history, contribution and ambition. The papers in the collection explore issues grounded in the legal geographies paradigm, variously analysing matters empirically detailed while engaging in broader, theoretical debates and using both Australian and international case studies.
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Water conservation, distribution and management are highly contested in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. During the height of the Millennium drought calls from local politicians and community leaders alike suggested that there was a... more
Water conservation, distribution and management are highly contested in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. During the height of the Millennium drought calls from local politicians and community leaders alike suggested that there was a need to ‘drought-proof’ not only the Hunter region but also the Australian continent from recurring climatic events. In response to this, Hunter Water Corporation