Dear All, here's a Call for Papers for the AAG meeting in LA that may be of interest. Gavin ------------
Call for Papers, Proposed Session at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, April 9-13 2013 A Golden Age of Gas? Understanding the Geographical Political Economy of Natural Gas Organised by Mike Bradshaw (Leicester), Stefan Bouzarovski (Birmingham) and Gavin Bridge (Manchester) Co-sponsored by the Economic Geography Specialty Group and the Energy and Environment Specialty Group of the AAG The prospects for the future of natural gas and its role in the global energy mix are more uncertain now than they have ever been. In the United States, surging unconventional gas production has increased gas supply and eroded the North American LNG market, contributing to a global 'gas glut'. Meanwhile, the possibility for a 'nuclear renaissance' is being reassessed in the wake of Fukushima - leading potentially to a renewed dash for gas; and in North America, Europe and Asia debate continues about the role of natural gas as a 'bridging' or 'transition' fuel to a low carbon future. Assessing these changes, the International Energy Agency (2011) has raised the prospect of a ‘golden age’ of natural gas: the implications of any golden age for the climate or for gas-field communities are, however, deeply ambiguous. Recent geographical research has highlighted the importance of understanding the political economy of fossil fuels as part of a broader energy research agenda. Patterns of investment in gas infrastructure - drilling rigs, pipelines, LNG terminals - and movements of gas are changing in significant ways at the regional and world scale. These in turn are challenging the role of oil indexation and long-term contracts in the global gas industry, potentially transforming established practices for governing the gas commodity chain. There is also widespread concern about the environmental and social implications of gas exploitation. Given the rapid evolution of the natural gas sector (in North America, in particular) – and the way gas is closely linked to socially-significant objectives like economic development, climate change and energy security – we propose a session of papers on the emerging geographical political economy of natural gas. If you are interested in presenting a paper in this session, please send an abstract (250 words) to Gavin Bridge (gavin.bri...@manchester.ac.uk<mailto:gavin.bri...@manchester.ac.uk>) by October 10th. Dr Gavin Bridge Reader in Economic Geography School of Environment and Development University of Manchester Manchester M13 9PL UNITED KINGDOM 44 (0)161 275 3638 www.manchester.ac.uk/sed/gavin.bridge<http://www.manchester.ac.uk/sed/gavin.bridge> Chair, RGS-IBG Energy Geographies Working Group www.energygeographiesworkinggroup.wordpress.com<http://www.energygeographiesworkinggroup.wordpress.com/>
