Abstract
A failed proposal to substitute wind energy for mountaintop removal coal mining provides a valuable case study illustrating the weakness of theoretical approaches that neglect class relations and the analytical strength of Marxist ecology for understanding the processes of environmental degradation. The latter's strength is shown in its illumination of the ways in which class relations in the coalfields are tied to capitalism's metabolic rift and how this rift shapes political struggle and developmental path dependencies. Using Marx's approach of successive abstractions, the interrelated drivers and consequences of mountaintop removal mining in the Coal River Valley are analyzed from three vantage points: the perspective of ecology, of capital, and of human development. The destructiveness involved in this type of coal production reveals the ways in which capitalism depends on an après moi le déluge regime, discounting the future, and thus barring sustainable human development.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 470-485 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Organization and Environment |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Fingerprint
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Environmental Science(all)
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
Cite this
Coal River's Last Mountain : King Coal's Après moi le déluge Reign. / Wishart, W. Ryan.
In: Organization and Environment, Vol. 25, No. 4, 01.12.2012, p. 470-485.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Coal River's Last Mountain
T2 - King Coal's Après moi le déluge Reign
AU - Wishart, W. Ryan
PY - 2012/12/1
Y1 - 2012/12/1
N2 - A failed proposal to substitute wind energy for mountaintop removal coal mining provides a valuable case study illustrating the weakness of theoretical approaches that neglect class relations and the analytical strength of Marxist ecology for understanding the processes of environmental degradation. The latter's strength is shown in its illumination of the ways in which class relations in the coalfields are tied to capitalism's metabolic rift and how this rift shapes political struggle and developmental path dependencies. Using Marx's approach of successive abstractions, the interrelated drivers and consequences of mountaintop removal mining in the Coal River Valley are analyzed from three vantage points: the perspective of ecology, of capital, and of human development. The destructiveness involved in this type of coal production reveals the ways in which capitalism depends on an après moi le déluge regime, discounting the future, and thus barring sustainable human development.
AB - A failed proposal to substitute wind energy for mountaintop removal coal mining provides a valuable case study illustrating the weakness of theoretical approaches that neglect class relations and the analytical strength of Marxist ecology for understanding the processes of environmental degradation. The latter's strength is shown in its illumination of the ways in which class relations in the coalfields are tied to capitalism's metabolic rift and how this rift shapes political struggle and developmental path dependencies. Using Marx's approach of successive abstractions, the interrelated drivers and consequences of mountaintop removal mining in the Coal River Valley are analyzed from three vantage points: the perspective of ecology, of capital, and of human development. The destructiveness involved in this type of coal production reveals the ways in which capitalism depends on an après moi le déluge regime, discounting the future, and thus barring sustainable human development.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84871374779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84871374779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1086026612466665
DO - 10.1177/1086026612466665
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84871374779
VL - 25
SP - 470
EP - 485
JO - Organization and Environment
JF - Organization and Environment
SN - 1086-0266
IS - 4
ER -