My Major Personal Project – Page 4 – Critical Research Journal

The dynamics of population (pt1)

The Guardian ran a piece this week, headlining the latest births and deaths data from the Office of National Statistics (Deaths outstrip births in UK for first time in nearly 50 years | UK news | The Guardian), in which they explain: “There were an estimated 16,300 fewer births than deaths in the UK in the year to mid-2023, the first time this has happened since the 1970s’ ‘baby bust’, if excess deaths during Covid are stripped out.”

We have known since the late 1970s that consumption driven by the size of the population was bringing about man-made climate change. What are the consequences of this piece of news? Is this good or bad news?

The news that deaths in the UK have outstripped births for the first time in nearly 50 years, excluding the pandemic, certainly has significant implications, both positive and negative, depending on the perspective taken.

Good News from a Climate Perspective

From the standpoint of addressing climate change, this demographic shift could be seen as beneficial. For decades, research has indicated that population growth, alongside high consumption, contributes to environmental degradation and accelerates climate change. A declining or stabilising population, therefore, may help reduce the strain on natural resources and lower carbon emissions, at least in the long term. Fewer people could mean less demand for energy, food, housing, and transportation, all of which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Although immigration is currently compensating for the natural population decline in the UK, a stabilising global population is often cited as one factor necessary for long-term environmental sustainability.

Economic and Social Challenges

On the flip side, a falling birth rate poses a number of economic and social challenges. A shrinking or ageing population can lead to a shrinking workforce, putting strain on public services, particularly healthcare and pensions. As the population ages, the demand for social care will rise, while there will be fewer young people to support the elderly through taxes and caregiving. Rural areas, in particular, may face more acute issues, with ageing populations and dwindling public resources.

Policymakers will need to balance these challenges by considering immigration, which is currently bolstering the population. Immigration can address shortfalls in the workforce and sustain economic growth, but it may also create political and social tensions, especially in countries where migration is a contested issue.

Potential Rebound in Births

The data suggests that the decline in fertility might not be permanent. Advances in reproductive technologies, such as IVF, and changes in family planning—where people are increasingly having children later—may lead to a rebound in birth rates. If younger generations start to have children in their 30s and 40s, the long-term population decline could be mitigated. However, this is speculative and depends on both technological advances and broader socio-economic conditions.

To sum up, while the natural population decline might offer some relief from the pressures of overconsumption and climate change, it also presents serious socio-economic challenges. The ageing population will require increased investment in healthcare and social care, and without sufficient immigration or a rebound in birth rates, economic growth could stagnate.

[Anti-]nuclear power photography approached from the Post-Kantian and Speculative Realism perspectives

Exploring the subject of nuclear power through photography from a post-Kantian versus a Speculative Realism approach would yield distinct thematic emphases, framing, and possibly the selection of subjects to photograph. Each perspective offers a unique lens through which the complexities, debates, and implications of nuclear power can be explored.

Post-Kantian Approach to Nuclear Power Photography:

Human Impact and Ethical Concerns: From a post-Kantian perspective, the focus would likely be on the ethical implications of nuclear power, including its potential for catastrophic accidents, long-term waste management issues, and its impact on human communities. Photographs might capture the human faces of these issues, such as communities near nuclear facilities, protests against nuclear power, or the aftermath of accidents like Chernobyl or Fukushima.
Narratives of Progress and Risk: Emphasizing the human-centric narrative, you might explore the tension between nuclear power as a source of clean energy and the existential risks it poses. This could involve documenting the infrastructure of nuclear power—reactors, waste storage facilities—and the human efforts to control and harness this technology.
Emotive Response: Aimed at evoking an emotional response from viewers, your photography could highlight the dramatic contrasts inherent in nuclear power, such as the serene exteriors of power plants against the potential for destruction they contain, or the technological awe and fear they inspire.

Speculative Realism Approach to Nuclear Power Photography:

Agency of Non-Human Actors: Approaching nuclear power from a Speculative Realism perspective would involve recognizing the agency of all entities involved, including the nuclear materials themselves, the technological assemblages of reactors, and the natural environments affected by radiation. Images might focus on the “life” of nuclear materials, their containment, and their interactions with biological and ecological systems.
Interconnectedness of Objects: Reflecting the interconnectedness emphasized in Speculative Realism, your photographs might explore how nuclear power is entangled with global politics, energy systems, and environmental ecosystems. This could involve capturing the vast networks and infrastructures that make nuclear power possible and the unseen impacts it has on various scales, from local landscapes to global climate change discussions.
Materiality and Temporality: With a focus on the materiality of nuclear power, you might document the physical presence and durability of nuclear facilities and waste, contemplating the deep time scales over which they will remain hazardous. Photography could serve as a medium to confront viewers with the long-term legacies of nuclear decisions made in the present.
Beyond Human Perspectives: Photography under Speculative Realism might attempt to capture perspectives on nuclear power that transcend human scales of time and space, such as the geological impact of waste storage or the ecological mutations caused by radiation exposure. This could challenge viewers to think about the implications of nuclear power in terms beyond immediate human concerns.

So, while a post-Kantian approach to photographing nuclear power might concentrate on its ethical implications for humanity, capturing the tension between technological progress and risk, a Speculative Realism approach would broaden the focus to include the agency of non-human actors, the material and temporal aspects of nuclear power, and the interconnectedness of all entities involved. Both perspectives offer rich, albeit different, conceptual frameworks for engaging with the complexities of nuclear power through the lens of documentary photography.