Toward a Theory of Institutions: Institutional Betrayal and Dispersions of Accountability at Johns Hopkins University.

To more fully understand how trauma can be inflicted by institutional betrayal, in this article I suggest that we first must ask who or what is the institution. To understand this, I analyze two recent events at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the establishment of a university private police force and funding cuts to the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Graduate Teaching Fellowships (WGS). Paradoxically, JHU claimed it was necessary to establish a private police force because of a lack of accountability of the Baltimore Police Department; however, simultaneously JHU was unaccountable to direct JHU affiliates by ignoring their explicit disapproval of a private police force. JHU imagined themselves as accountable to an ambiguous 'us' beyond direct JHU affiliates and dispersed its accountability, evidenced by advocating for state legislature and making mayoral campaign donations. This lack of accountability was rearticulated in discussions about WGS cuts, when JHU embraced a rhetoric of the market to substantiate their claims and evade the questions of direct JHU affiliates. These cases show how articulations of who the institution imagines itself as accountable to are dynamically mutating, yet build upon precedents that set the conditions of possibility for how trauma is produced and mediated. I conclude by suggesting that it is important to move beyond a monolithic conception of the institution, and to be attuned to how dispersions of institutional accountability create new terrains where institutional contestation take place as well as the institution's strategic rupturing of the concept of the institutional citizen.

Reduction in global habitat loss from fossil-fuel-dependent increases in cropland productivity.

Terrestrial biodiversity loss and climate change, driven mainly by loss of habitat to agriculture and fossil fuel (FF) use, respectively, are considered among the world's greatest environmental threats. However, FF-dependent technologies are currently essential for manufacturing synthetic nitrogen fertilizers (SNFs) and synthetic pesticides (SPs) critical to increasing agricultural productivity, which reduces habitat loss. Fossil fuel use increases CO2 levels, further enhancing agricultural productivity. Based on estimates of global increases in yields from SNFs, SPs, and atmospheric CO2 fertilization, I estimated that FF-dependent technologies are responsible for at least 62.5% of current global food production (GFP) from cropland. Thus, if FF use is eschewed in the future, maintaining current GFP means croplands would have to increase from 12.2% of global land area (GLA) excluding Antarctica to 32.7%. The additional 20.4% of GLA needed exceeds habitat lost currently to cropland (12.2% of GLA) and cumulative conservation areas globally (14.6% of GLA). Thus, although eliminating FF use could reduce climate change, its unintended consequences may be to significantly exacerbate biodiversity loss and indirectly increase food costs, reducing food security which, moreover, disproportionately affects the poor. Although it may be possible to replace SNFs and SPs with FF-free technologies, such substitutes have not yet been demonstrated to be sufficiently economical or efficient. In the interim, meeting global food demand and keeping food prices affordable would increase habitat conversion and food prices. These trade-offs should be considered in analyses of climate change policies.

Reducción de la Pérdida Mundial de Hábitat a Partir de Incrementos Dependientes de Combustibles Fósiles en la Productividad de los Terrenos de Cultivo Resumen La pérdida de la biodiversidad terrestre y el cambio climático, causados principalmente por la pérdida del hábitat debido a la agricultura y al uso de combustibles fósiles (CF) respectivamente, están consideradas entre las más grandes amenazas ambientales a nivel mundial. Sin embargo, las tecnologías dependientes de los CF son actualmente de mucha importancia para la manufactura de fertilizantes sintéticos de nitrógeno (FSN) y de pesticidas sintéticos (PS) fundamentales para el incremento de la productividad agrícola, lo cual reduce la pérdida del hábitat. El uso de los CF incrementa los niveles de CO2 , mejorando todavía más la productividad agrícola. Con base en los estimados de los incrementos mundiales de producción de FSN, PS y la fertilización por CO2 atmosférico estimé que las tecnologías dependientes de los CF son las responsables de al menos el 62.5% de la producción mundial de alimentos (PMA) en las tierras de cultivo. Por esto, si en el futuro se evita el uso de los FF, para mantener la PMA actual los terrenos de cultivo tendrían que incrementar de 12.2% del área global de suelo (AGS) (excluyendo a la Antártida) a 32.7%. El 20.4% adicional del AGS necesaria excede a los hábitats perdidos hasta ahora por terrenos de cultivo (12.2% del AGS) y a las áreas acumuladas de conservación (14.6% del AGS) en todo el mundo. Por lo tanto, mientras que la eliminación de los CF podría reducir el avance del cambio climático, las consecuencias imprevistas de esto podrían exacerbar significativamente la pérdida de la biodiversidad e indirectamente incrementar el costo de los alimentos, reduciendo así la seguridad alimentaria. Aunque puede ser posible reemplazar los FSN y los PS con tecnologías libres de CF, no se ha demostrado que dichos sustitutos sean suficientemente económicos o eficientes. Mientras tanto, cumplir la demanda mundial de alimentos y mantener costeables los precios alimentarios incrementa la conversión de los hábitats. Estas compensaciones deberían ser consideradas en los análisis de las políticas para el cambio climático.

Greenhouse gas balance and carbon footprint of pasture-based beef cattle production systems in the tropical region (Atlantic Forest biome).

The production of beef cattle in the Atlantic Forest biome mostly takes place in pastoral production systems. There are millions of hectares covered with pastures in this biome, including degraded pasture (DP), and only small area of the original Atlantic Forest has been preserved in tropics, implying that actions must be taken by the livestock sector to improve sustainability. Intensification makes it possible to produce the same amount, or more beef, in a smaller area; however, the environmental impacts must be assessed. Regarding climate change, the C dynamics is essential to define which beef cattle systems are sustainable. The objectives of this study were to investigate the C balance (t CO2e./ha per year), the intensity of C emission (kg CO2e./kg BW or carcass) and the C footprint (t CO2e./ha per year) of pasture-based beef cattle production systems, inside the farm gate and considering the inputs. The results were used to calculate the number of trees to be planted in beef cattle production systems to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The GHG emission and C balance, for 2 years, were calculated based on the global warming potential (GWP) of AR4 and GWP of AR5. Forty-eight steers were allotted to four grazing systems: DP, irrigated high stocking rate pasture (IHS), rainfed high stocking rate pasture (RHS) and rainfed medium stocking rate pasture (RMS). The rainfed systems (RHS and RMS) presented the lowest C footprints (-1.22 and 0.45 t CO2e./ha per year, respectively), with C credits to RMS when using the GWP of AR4. The IHS system showed less favorable results for C footprint (-15.71 t CO2e./ha per year), but results were better when emissions were expressed in relation to the annual BW gain (-10.21 kg CO2e./kg BW) because of its higher yield. Although the DP system had an intermediate result for C footprint (-6.23 t CO2e./ha per year), the result was the worst (-30.21 CO2e./kg BW) when the index was expressed in relation to the annual BW gain, because in addition to GHG emissions from the animals in the system there were also losses in the annual rate of C sequestration. Notably, the intensification in pasture management had a land-saving effect (3.63 ha for IHS, 1.90 for RHS and 1.19 for RMS), contributing to the preservation of the tropical forest.

The effect of grazing system intensification on the growth and meat quality of beef cattle in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome.

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of four levels of intensification of grazing systems: 1) degraded pasture - DP; 2) irrigated pasture with high stocking rate - IHS; 3) dryland pasture with high stocking rate - DHS; 4) dryland pasture with moderate stocking rate - DMS; on growth, muscle development and meat quality of Nellore steers (271±2.2kg of live body weight - BW; 15months old) during two consecutive periods (17 and 15months). The final BW, the average daily BW gain, the hot carcass weight and the dress percentage were greater (P<0.0001), and the ribeye area tended to be greater (P=0.085), in the intensified systems compared to the degraded system. Animals in all systems presented similar back fat. Muscle development increased with the intensification of the grazing systems and meat quality was not affected.