We are excited to announce the first ISIE Webinar hosted by the Socio-Economic Metabolism section. Next week, Dr. Marina Fischer-Kowalski will discuss Socio-metabolic regimes and transitions between them. Please register by clicking the link below. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. We would like to offer our members access to early registration so please register at your earliest convenience.

 

Socio-metabolic regimes and transitions between them

Marina Fischer-Kowalski, Institute for Social Ecology, Vienna

Mar 17, 2017 8:00 – 9:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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The metabolic patterns of human society are dynamic; they have undergone major changes during the course of human history, and are currently in a transition process. This webinar will recall major stages in human history through the lens of the societal use of energy and materials. It will explore the resource use in hunter-gatherer societies, agrarian societies and industrial societies, and its consequences for the impact of those sociometabolic regimes on the environment, as well as its impact on the organization, i.e. the demographic patterns and the governance of the respective societies.

Why is this relevant? On the one hand, if we discuss Sustainable Development Goals, we need to understand that the majority of the world’s countries are in a transition from an agrarian to an industrial regime; on the other hand, if we discuss Climate Change, we need to be aware that even the most advanced countries have to undergo another metabolic transition away from using fossil fuels. This webinar deals with human-environment dynamics in the Anthropocene, and briefly discusses the features of a next transition.

Reference:

Krausmann, F., H.Weisz and N.Eisenmenger (2016), Transitions in Sociometabolic Regimes Throughout Human History, in: Haberl, H., M.Fischer-Kowalski, F.Krausmann & V.Winiwarter (eds.), Social Ecology. Society-Nature Relations across Time and Space. Springer, pp.63-92. DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33326-7