The Postdoctoral Fellows Program in Sustainable Development provides scholars who have a foundation in one of the Institute’s core disciplines the opportunity to acquire the cross- disciplinary expertise and breadth needed to address critical issues in the field of sustainable development, including reducing poverty, hunger, disease, and environmental degradation.

Candidates for the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program should submit a proposal for research that would contribute to the goal of global sustainable development. This could take the form of participating in and contributing to an existing multidisciplinary Earth Institute project, an extension of an existing project, or a new project that connects existing Institute expertise in novel ways.

For detailed information about the Earth Institute, its research centers, programs, and affiliated Columbia University departments, please visit http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu

For information about the Postdoctoral Fellows Program please visit
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/postdoc

Application forms should be completed and submitted online, starting in August 2011. Deadline: November 15, 2011 http://fellows.ei.columbia.edu/2011/

Applications submitted by November 15, 2011 will be considered for fellowships starting in the summer or fall of 2012.
For more information, contact: Steven Zemke Program Manager, OARP szemke@ei.columbia.edu The Earth Institute, Columbia University 2910 Broadway, New York, NY 10025 Program e-mail: fellows@ei.columbia.edu
Columbia University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.

Paper proposals are invited for a panel session on Sustainable Development and Fossil Capitalism

Panel Description
Corporations in the coal, gas, and oil extraction industries, among others (e.g., the automobile and transportation sectors) are expending great effort to make the case that continued reliance upon fossil fuels can be made environmentally sustainable. In some cases, governments are supporting this case by subsidizing the environmental costs, investing in technology research that will prolong the use of conventional and unconventional fossil fuels, or engaging in public relations campaigns that mirror those of the corporations. We are hearing today about “clean coal,” “clean energy” (from tar sands production), “responsible energy production,” and other claims based on technological advances or comparisons with other energy sources that purport to be consistent with “sustainable development.” To some extent, the concern to defend fossil fuels extraction and use as “sustainable” may be shifting to the weaker criteria of necessity (for economic and security reasons) and public safety. Deep water drilling for oil, drilling in the Arctic, or the construction of new pipelines are being represented as both necessary and possible to do “safely,” even if they entail regrettable costs for global warming. What research is being done on the public relations strategies and other initiatives (e.g., funding of university research, corporate donations, funding of elementary and secondary school curricula and resources) of corporate and government actors engaged in the struggle to shape public policy and public perceptions about the meaning of sustainable development? How defenders of fossil capitalism addressing the global crisis of climate change and responding to their ecological critics? Presentations in this session will offer empirically-grounded analyses of the current strategies of key actors committed to representing fossil capitalism as environmentally sustainable. What resources are being utilized to design, fund, and disseminate these campaigns? What roles are diverse media playing? What lessons can political ecologists and social justice activists learn from these analyses?

Please send a one-page proposal by February 15, 2011 to Laurie Adkin at ladkin@ualberta.ca