Dr. Max Liboiron works to both develop and promote anticolonial research methods into a wide array of disciplines and spaces. As founder of CLEAR, an interdisciplinary plastic pollution laboratory whose methods foreground humility and good land relations, Liboiron has influenced national policy on both plastics and Indigenous research, invented technologies and protocols for community monitoring of plastics, and led the development of the interdisciplinary field of discard studies. Address: www.maxliboiron.com
Contemporary decisions about the management of populations, public services, security, and the en... more Contemporary decisions about the management of populations, public services, security, and the environment are increasingly made through knowledge gleaned from 'big data' and its attendant infrastructures and algorithms. Though often described as 'raw,' this data is produced by techniques of measurement that are imbued with judgments and values that dictate what is counted and what is not, what is considered the best unit of measurement, and how different things are grouped together and "made" into a measureable entity. In this paper, we analyze these politics of measurement and how they relate to action through two case studies involving high stake public health measurements where experts intentionally leverage measurement to change definitions of harm and health. That is, they use measurement for activism. The case studies offer a framework for thinking about of how the politics of measurement are present in user interfaces. It is usually assumed that...
The purpose of the guidelines is to review existing knowledge and provide guidance for designing ... more The purpose of the guidelines is to review existing knowledge and provide guidance for designing an Arctic monitoring program that will track litter and MP. The topics of litter, plastic pollution, and MP are addressed in many fora, including several of the Arctic Council working groups: Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP; https://www.amap.no/documents/doc/amap-assessment-2016-chemicals-of-emerging-arctic-concern/1624), Protection of the Marine Environment (PAME, 2019), and Conservation of the Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF). The development of an Arctic monitoring program and its technical approaches will be based on the work that already exists in other programs such as those of OSPAR, the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Plastic pollution is typically categorized into items and particles o...
Shoreline surveys are an accessible and common method for monitoring plastic pollution in aquatic... more Shoreline surveys are an accessible and common method for monitoring plastic pollution in aquatic environments. Their results are critical to well-informed pollution mitigation efforts. Here, we show that three environmental variables: (1) coarse sediment, (2) accumulations of organic material, and (3) snow and ice are dramatically underrepresented by existing shoreline plastic pollution research efforts. We reviewed 361 published shoreline surveys, encompassing 3,284 sample sites, and found that only 4% of sites included coarse sediment, only one study described sampling organic material for plastic, and only 2.5% of sites are sampled in the presence of ice or snow. The relative absence of these environmental variables may stem from the tailoring of shoreline survey guidelines to a narrow range of shoreline environments. These three features influence plastic deposition and retention on shorelines, and their underrepresentation signals a need to recalibrate research efforts towards...
According to New Yorkers, two different Hurricane Sandys hit their city in 2012. The first was a ... more According to New Yorkers, two different Hurricane Sandys hit their city in 2012. The first was a one-time indiscriminate exceptional catastrophe. The second was an extraordinary acceleration of inequalities affecting the poorest New Yorkers. Daniel A. Cohen and Max Liboiron promote the second perspective as a systemic approach susceptible of helping New York City face the challenges of environmental distress both locally and globally.
Responses to Hurricane Sandy consistently cluster into two types according to how the issues have... more Responses to Hurricane Sandy consistently cluster into two types according to how the issues have been defined and understood. On one hand, the crisis was seen as an extreme weather event that created physical and economic damage, and temporarily moved New York City away from its status quo. On the other hand, Hurricane Sandy exacerbated crises which existed before the storm, including poverty, lack of affordable housing, precarious or low employment, and unequal access to resources generally. A Tale of Two Sandys describes these two understandings of disaster and discuss their implications for response, recovery, and justice in New York City. The white paper is based on 74 interviews with policymakers, environmental groups, volunteer first responders, and residents affected by the storm; ethnographic observation; analysis of public reports from government, community-based organizations, and other groups; qualitative analysis of canvassing forms and data; and a review of the academi...
The ubiquitous pollution of the environment with microplastics, a diverse suite of contaminants, ... more The ubiquitous pollution of the environment with microplastics, a diverse suite of contaminants, is of growing concern for science and currently receives considerable public, political, and academic attention. The potential impact of microplastics in the environment has prompted a great deal of research in recent years. Many diverse methods have been developed to answer different questions about microplastic pollution, from sources, transport, and fate in the environment, and about effects on humans and wildlife. These methods are often insufficiently described, making studies neither comparable nor reproducible. The proliferation of new microplastic investigations and cross-study syntheses to answer larger scale questions are hampered. This diverse group of 23 researchers think these issues can begin to be overcome through the adoption of a set of reporting guidelines. This collaboration was created using an open science framework that we detail for future use. Here, we suggest har...
In the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, fishing is a core occupation and also a source of m... more In the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, fishing is a core occupation and also a source of marine plastic pollution. To look at this relationship, we examined 216 gastrointestinal tracts of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) caught by commercial fishers at Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. We found three tracts contained plastic for a frequency of occurrence of 1.4%. While this result is consistent with other cod sampled in the province, this study found two gastrointestinal tracts contained intact bait bags, used in commercial pots, and the third tract contained a polypropylene thread, likely originating from fishing rope. Our findings demonstrate the frequency of plastic ingestion in this region is low, but fishing-gear related plastics represent a key source of marine plastics in the region that should be addressed.
Author order is crucial; it is the currency of academia. Within STEM disciplines, women and junio... more Author order is crucial; it is the currency of academia. Within STEM disciplines, women and junior researchers--those who are the primary constituents of our lab-- consistently receive less credit for equal work. Our Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research (CLEAR) is a feminist marine science laboratory at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. Recognizing that the stakes are high for CLEAR members, we have developed an approach to author order that emphasizes process and equity rather than system and equality. Our process is premised on: 1) deciding author order vy consensus; 2) valuing care work and other forms of labour that are usually left out of scientific value systems; and 3) taking intersectional social standing into account. Although CLEAR’s approach differs from others’, we take author order seriously as a compromised but dominant structure within science we must contend with. That is, rather than attempt to circumvent author order, we stay with the trou...
Contemporary decisions about the management of populations, public services, security, and the en... more Contemporary decisions about the management of populations, public services, security, and the environment are increasingly made through knowledge gleaned from 'big data' and its attendant infrastructures and algorithms. Though often described as 'raw,' this data is produced by techniques of measurement that are imbued with judgments and values that dictate what is counted and what is not, what is considered the best unit of measurement, and how different things are grouped together and "made" into a measureable entity. In this paper, we analyze these politics of measurement and how they relate to action through two case studies involving high stake public health measurements where experts intentionally leverage measurement to change definitions of harm and health. That is, they use measurement for activism. The case studies offer a framework for thinking about of how the politics of measurement are present in user interfaces. It is usually assumed that...
The purpose of the guidelines is to review existing knowledge and provide guidance for designing ... more The purpose of the guidelines is to review existing knowledge and provide guidance for designing an Arctic monitoring program that will track litter and MP. The topics of litter, plastic pollution, and MP are addressed in many fora, including several of the Arctic Council working groups: Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP; https://www.amap.no/documents/doc/amap-assessment-2016-chemicals-of-emerging-arctic-concern/1624), Protection of the Marine Environment (PAME, 2019), and Conservation of the Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF). The development of an Arctic monitoring program and its technical approaches will be based on the work that already exists in other programs such as those of OSPAR, the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Plastic pollution is typically categorized into items and particles o...
Shoreline surveys are an accessible and common method for monitoring plastic pollution in aquatic... more Shoreline surveys are an accessible and common method for monitoring plastic pollution in aquatic environments. Their results are critical to well-informed pollution mitigation efforts. Here, we show that three environmental variables: (1) coarse sediment, (2) accumulations of organic material, and (3) snow and ice are dramatically underrepresented by existing shoreline plastic pollution research efforts. We reviewed 361 published shoreline surveys, encompassing 3,284 sample sites, and found that only 4% of sites included coarse sediment, only one study described sampling organic material for plastic, and only 2.5% of sites are sampled in the presence of ice or snow. The relative absence of these environmental variables may stem from the tailoring of shoreline survey guidelines to a narrow range of shoreline environments. These three features influence plastic deposition and retention on shorelines, and their underrepresentation signals a need to recalibrate research efforts towards...
According to New Yorkers, two different Hurricane Sandys hit their city in 2012. The first was a ... more According to New Yorkers, two different Hurricane Sandys hit their city in 2012. The first was a one-time indiscriminate exceptional catastrophe. The second was an extraordinary acceleration of inequalities affecting the poorest New Yorkers. Daniel A. Cohen and Max Liboiron promote the second perspective as a systemic approach susceptible of helping New York City face the challenges of environmental distress both locally and globally.
Responses to Hurricane Sandy consistently cluster into two types according to how the issues have... more Responses to Hurricane Sandy consistently cluster into two types according to how the issues have been defined and understood. On one hand, the crisis was seen as an extreme weather event that created physical and economic damage, and temporarily moved New York City away from its status quo. On the other hand, Hurricane Sandy exacerbated crises which existed before the storm, including poverty, lack of affordable housing, precarious or low employment, and unequal access to resources generally. A Tale of Two Sandys describes these two understandings of disaster and discuss their implications for response, recovery, and justice in New York City. The white paper is based on 74 interviews with policymakers, environmental groups, volunteer first responders, and residents affected by the storm; ethnographic observation; analysis of public reports from government, community-based organizations, and other groups; qualitative analysis of canvassing forms and data; and a review of the academi...
The ubiquitous pollution of the environment with microplastics, a diverse suite of contaminants, ... more The ubiquitous pollution of the environment with microplastics, a diverse suite of contaminants, is of growing concern for science and currently receives considerable public, political, and academic attention. The potential impact of microplastics in the environment has prompted a great deal of research in recent years. Many diverse methods have been developed to answer different questions about microplastic pollution, from sources, transport, and fate in the environment, and about effects on humans and wildlife. These methods are often insufficiently described, making studies neither comparable nor reproducible. The proliferation of new microplastic investigations and cross-study syntheses to answer larger scale questions are hampered. This diverse group of 23 researchers think these issues can begin to be overcome through the adoption of a set of reporting guidelines. This collaboration was created using an open science framework that we detail for future use. Here, we suggest har...
In the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, fishing is a core occupation and also a source of m... more In the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, fishing is a core occupation and also a source of marine plastic pollution. To look at this relationship, we examined 216 gastrointestinal tracts of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) caught by commercial fishers at Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. We found three tracts contained plastic for a frequency of occurrence of 1.4%. While this result is consistent with other cod sampled in the province, this study found two gastrointestinal tracts contained intact bait bags, used in commercial pots, and the third tract contained a polypropylene thread, likely originating from fishing rope. Our findings demonstrate the frequency of plastic ingestion in this region is low, but fishing-gear related plastics represent a key source of marine plastics in the region that should be addressed.
Author order is crucial; it is the currency of academia. Within STEM disciplines, women and junio... more Author order is crucial; it is the currency of academia. Within STEM disciplines, women and junior researchers--those who are the primary constituents of our lab-- consistently receive less credit for equal work. Our Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research (CLEAR) is a feminist marine science laboratory at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. Recognizing that the stakes are high for CLEAR members, we have developed an approach to author order that emphasizes process and equity rather than system and equality. Our process is premised on: 1) deciding author order vy consensus; 2) valuing care work and other forms of labour that are usually left out of scientific value systems; and 3) taking intersectional social standing into account. Although CLEAR’s approach differs from others’, we take author order seriously as a compromised but dominant structure within science we must contend with. That is, rather than attempt to circumvent author order, we stay with the trou...
Co-conveners: Beza Merid (USC) and Max Liboiron (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
Whether f... more Co-conveners: Beza Merid (USC) and Max Liboiron (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
Whether focused on toxicity, disease, disaster, violence, or malfunction, STS scholars have long studied harm. Given the great diversity of approaches and cases, this panel seeks to take an intersectional approach to theorizing harm. We ask how harm is re/defined by the systems it is part of. In Mary Douglas' theorization of pollution, she claims that, " where there is dirt, there is system: […] a set of ordered relations and a contravention of that order " (1988: 36). Harm is also a contravention of order. What characterizes these orders and their infringement? How are definitions of harm challenged and what is being challenged, exactly? How do different metrics, modes of management, regimes of perceptibility, systems of power, and accountability co-define harm? What are the spatialities and temporalities of harm, and how do they co-construct harm? In short, what is harm and why? The answers will depend on their cases, but we hold that despite differences, there are unifying characteristics. We seek to explore these through a collection of papers that explicitly theorize harm.
We invite papers from a wide range of approaches to thinking about harm: Submit an abstract of 250 words to Beza Merid (merid@usc.edu) and Max Liboiron (mliboiron@mun.ca) by February 15th. Note that we are seeking papers that explicitly theorize harm, as opposed to those that describe it or its metrics.
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Papers by Max Liboiron
Whether focused on toxicity, disease, disaster, violence, or malfunction, STS scholars have long studied harm. Given the great diversity of approaches and cases, this panel seeks to take an intersectional approach to theorizing harm. We ask how harm is re/defined by the systems it is part of. In Mary Douglas' theorization of pollution, she claims that, " where there is dirt, there is system: […] a set of ordered relations and a contravention of that order " (1988: 36). Harm is also a contravention of order. What characterizes these orders and their infringement? How are definitions of harm challenged and what is being challenged, exactly? How do different metrics, modes of management, regimes of perceptibility, systems of power, and accountability co-define harm? What are the spatialities and temporalities of harm, and how do they co-construct harm? In short, what is harm and why? The answers will depend on their cases, but we hold that despite differences, there are unifying characteristics. We seek to explore these through a collection of papers that explicitly theorize harm.
We invite papers from a wide range of approaches to thinking about harm: Submit an abstract of 250 words to Beza Merid (merid@usc.edu) and Max Liboiron (mliboiron@mun.ca) by February 15th. Note that we are seeking papers that explicitly theorize harm, as opposed to those that describe it or its metrics.