It is widely assumed that modern hunter-gatherer societies lived until very recently in isolation from food-producing societies and states and practiced neither cultivation, pastoralism, nor trade. This paper brings together data suggesting a very different model of middle to late Holocene hunter-gatherer economy. It is argued that such foraging groups were heavily dependent upon both trade with food-producing populations and part-time cultivation or pastoralism. Recent publications on a number of hunter-gather societies establish that the symbiosis and desultory food production observed among them today are neither recent nor anomalous but represent an economy practiced by most hunter-gatherers for many hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Psychological and political reasons for Westerners' attachment to the myth of the "Savage Other" are discussed.
Can a solid foundation for the future adaptation of solar fuels be built today? Component technologies developed to efficiently generate fuel from sunlight are finding innovative pathways to commercialization in established markets.
Like many urban areas around the world, Durham and Orange counties in North Carolina, USA are experiencing population growth and sprawl that is putting stress on the transportation system. Light rail and denser transit-oriented development are being considered as possible solutions. However, local agencies and stakeholders are concerned the light rail may worsen housing affordability and have questioned whether investment in both light rail and dense redevelopment are necessary to achieve community goals. We developed an integrated system dynamics model to quantitatively explore the outcomes of these land use and transportation options across multiple societal dimensions. The model incorporates feedbacks among the land, transportation, economic, equity, and energy sectors. This paper uses the results of four model scenarios, run between 2000 and 2040, to address two main questions: (1) what role does redevelopment play in capturing the socioeconomic benefits of transit infrastructure investment? And (2) how do redevelopment and light-rail transit interact to affect housing and transportation affordability? We find that transit investment and dense redevelopment combine synergistically to better achieve the goals of the light-rail line, including economic development, mobility, and compact growth. However, housing affordability does worsen in the combined scenario, as transportation-cost savings are not sufficient to offset the rise in housing costs. We emphasize that model users may input their own assumptions to explore the dynamics of alternative scenarios. We demonstrate how spatially-aggregated systems models can complement traditional land use and transportation models in the regional planning process.
ABSTRACT. Government resource decisions in the Arctic typically involve complex issues; multiple criteria are used to choose among alternatives. This complexity is even greater with petroleum development because of concerns about national energy security, environmental impacts, and economic development. Two decision-aiding techniques may help decision makers clarify their decisions to themselves, the stakeholders, and the general public. The Russian qualitative technique seeks to reduce the number of criteria and find alternative options that may be better than the initial ones. The Western quantitative technique seeks to measure the decision maker's judgement about the utility and certainty of each option. These techniques are applied to two case studies: a decision about gas pipeline routing on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia, and a tool for evaluating applications for development permits on the North Slope of Alaska. The qualitative method is easier to use and may be the best model for people who use numbers infrequently or want to make a claim based on rights. The quantitative method did well at preserving detail and incorporating uncertainty. Both approaches helped to reduce the apparent complexity of the decisions.Key words: oil and gas, decision analysis, Yamal Peninsula, Badami, Niakuk RÉSUMÉ. Les décisions gouvernementales concernant les ressources dans l'Arctique mettent le plus souvent en jeu des questions complexes; un grand nombre de critères sont utilisés en vue de choisir parmi différentes options. Cette complexité s'accroît dans le cas de l'exploitation pétrolière en raison des problèmes entourant la sécurité nationale de l'énergie, les retombées environnementales et le développement économique. Deux techniques d'aide à la décision peuvent inciter les décideurs à clarifier leurs décisions pour eux-mêmes, pour les parties intéressées et pour le grand public. La technique qualitative russe cherche à réduire le nombre de critères et à trouver des solutions de rechange qui pourraient être meilleures que les mesures initiales. La technique quantitative occidentale cherche à mesurer le jugement du décideur sur l'utilité et la certitude de chaque option. Ces techniques sont appliquées à deux études de cas: une décision concernant le tracé d'un gazoduc dans la presqu'île de Iamal en Russie, et un outil permettant d'évaluer les demandes de permis d'exploitation sur le versant Nord de l'Alaska. La méthode qualitative est plus facile à utiliser et peut être le meilleur modèle pour des individus qui n'ont pas l'habitude des chiffres ou qui veulent établir une revendication fondée sur des droits. La méthode quantitative réussit bien à préserver le détail et à intégrer l'incertitude. Les deux approches aidaient à réduire la complexité apparente des décisions.Mots clés: pétrole et gaz, analyse des décisions, presqu'île Iamal, Badami, Niakuk Traduit pour la revue Arctic par Nésida Loyer.
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