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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · 28d

These points, however, do not fault Just Earth’s broader argument. Juniper infuses a typically scientific debate with genuine, heartfelt, humanity — it is a real call to arms. If you take the time to read the full review in print or online, do share your thoughts with me!

Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · 28d

(continued) 3. efforts to reduce inequality can have a more positive effect on growth as the fiscal multiplier of redistributive government spending is stronger. Discussion of how recent growth has been more loosely correlated with carbon emissions, too, would have been a welcome addition.

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · 28d

3. The critique of GDP as an intrinsically poor measurement of economic wellbeing. This could’ve used further analysis, particularly given the emphasis on the contrast between growth and (in)equality — .....

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · 28d

(continued) 2. and particularly disregards the innate diversity and agency of the latter — indigenous communities’ ability to choose to exploit or not exploit the natural world.

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · 28d

2. The monolithisation of indigenous communities’ traditional ecological knowledge. The false dichotomisation between western and indigenous cultures is in itself problematic, .....

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · 28d

(continued) 1. That is not to say that these arguments are wrong in absolute — just that their contingent nature would have been worth exploring.

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · 28d

1. Some historical allusions made throughout the book are deeply teleological. Causally linking the exploits of empire with present socioeconomic inequalities is questionable; as is the painting of colonialism and industrialisation as a singular, conjoined, process.

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · 28d

He explores the diverse inequalities that this degradation is exposing, and offers an alternative vision which emphasises wellbeing over material wealth: that of thrivalism. A few points made in Just Earth, though, require mitigation:

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · 28d

An enjoyable read, I encourage everyone to pick up a copy. Juniper, tapping into his wealth of experience in environmental policy and activism, elucidates the inextricability of socioeconomic inequality and climatic-ecological degradation.

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · 28d

Pleased to share that my review of @tonyjuniper.bsky.social's Just Earth has been published in @britishwildlife.bsky.social's recent print edition. You can find it online here: bit.ly/4p7JU7c

Just Earth - British Wildlife

Just Earth comes at a particularly unjust and unearthly time. Mounting inequalities and crystallising environmental crises characterise the present day, and this forms the basis of Tony Juniper’s two-...

bit.ly

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Reposted by Ted Theisinger

British Wildlife @britishwildlife.bsky.social · Aug 22

Our August issue is out! Topics this time include Risso’s Dolphins in Britain, Holm Oaks and their moths, urban wall ferns, the importance of woodland grassland, and the conclusion to our wilding for conservation series.

For more, see:
www.britishwildlife.com/back-issues/...

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · May 21

A follow-up essay examining prerequisites for potential alternative solutions is forthcoming. Until then, please do get in touch and share your thoughts!

Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · May 21

Existing approaches simply do not sufficiently address the temporal and spatial demands of ecological restoration. Read the full essay here: bit.ly/45iDBWQ

The Enshittification of Nature and the Limits of State Intervention

Proponents of private solutions are backed by the (un)imaginative default of private capital — capital that holds the power of financial resource allocation, and can thereby paint itself as the only w...

bit.ly

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · May 21

I go on to argue that we remain trapped in a sort of bifurcated human fatalism, limited by our imagination of what's possible — see the end of the essay for a diagram embodying this imaginative trap.

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · May 21

Private solutions, amongst other uncertainties, risk the enshittification of the natural world. State interventions, whilst better positioned to provide public — or rather planetary — goods, suffer from the risks of political frailty and excessive centralisation.

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · May 21

I decided to write a longform essay dissecting the dichotomous (and admittedly strawmanning) pathways of private and public financing of nature conservation and restoration. Both, I argue, fall short in addressing our planet's ecological crises.

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · May 21

The nature finance gap is a matter of much debate — how large it is, how to fill it, and what mechanisms to utilise for this.

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Reposted by Ted Theisinger

Community Land Scotland @communitylandsc.bsky.social · Apr 25

A momentous day for land reform in Scotland! The first compulsory purchase of land using Right to Buy legislation . This follows a failed appeal against the Scottish Government decision by the landowner. Well done Poet's Neuk! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Court ruling paves way for forced sale of St Andrews land

The sale of a plot of ground in St Andrews would be the first of its kind in Scotland.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · Mar 20

3/ You might like some writing I did on this in the Scottish context a few months back: tedtheisinger.com Would love to continue the conversation elsewhere — pop me an email: [email protected]

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · Mar 20

2/ I guess this depends on one's priorities: solely better outcomes for nature in the long-term, or greater accountability which can typically/may lead to better outcomes for nature in the short/medium-term? I feel the two are too often conflated.

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · Mar 20

Thank you Guy, much appreciated! Agreed, accountability can augur better outcomes. My concern is that this lacks durability. Folk landowners are accountable to could decide nature-centric land management is no longer desirable (incentives could change, as could social and economic preferences). 1/

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · Mar 20

For more on my takeaways and a summary of Guy's book, do read the full review on British Wildlife's site!

www.britishwildlife.com/book-review-...

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · Mar 20

3. Ecological degradation is not a modern, or even early modern-onwards, phenomenon. Focussing on recent changes in landownership arrangements and dynamics can at times cloud this.

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · Mar 20

2. Public and community landownership does not necessarily portend better outcomes for nature. Landowners of all varieties are guided by diverse motivations and incentives.

@andy-wightman.bsky.social

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Ted Theisinger @tedtheisinger.com · Mar 20

Do buy it. But when you give it a read, keep a few things in mind.

1. The weaknesses of state ownership and oversight — if control is excessively centralised, a later backtracking or unwinding of positive action becomes riskier. One only has to look stateside and elsewhere for this to become clear.

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