Keith R. Skene
Born in the historic city of Armagh in Ireland in 1965, Keith has written five books on sustainability and anthropology, carrying out field research across the planet, from the Carpathian mountains to Vietnam. Keith established the Biosphere Research Institute (www.biosri.org), becoming its first director. The Biosphere Research Institute does cutting-edge research on environmental, economic and societal sustainability, focusing on a fundamental dialogue around our place in the Earth system.
Biography
A former Association of Rhodes Scholars of Australia Scholar, Dr Keith Skene is the author of a many influential books and papers, centred around planetary function and sustainability transition, including Sustainable Economics: Context, Challenges and Opportunities (Taylor and Francis, 2017). Keith has particular expertise in transitional anthropology (explored in his 2011 book, Escape from Bubbleworld), indicators of transition, biogeography and systems theory. He has taught in many universities across the world, including on the Sustainable Development MSc at the University of St Andrews. Keith is a regular keynote speaker at international events and has spoken at the Edinburgh Science Festival. He has made frequent radio and television contributions on sustainability issues.His research, across twenty-five years, has taken him to South East Asia, Western Australia, East Africa, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean on a wide range of sustainability and conservation projects, including wetlands (The Nariva Swamp in Trinidad) and rainforest, working with governments and NGOs. This has provided him with a deep understanding of global issues on the ground, across many cultures. Significant experience globally includes Kenyan agroforestry projects, working closely with farmers and with the World Agroforestry Centre (formerly the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry), related to reductions in fertilizers, soil stability and crop management. Keith is the founder and director of the Biosphere Research Institute (www.biosri.org) and responsible for vision enhancement, facilitation and development. His work brings together scientists, economists, artists, architects and educators in order to co-design solutions and co-produce outcomes that will contribute to ecological, social and economic sustainability. Other areas of expertise include bioremediation, ecological succession, exobiology, eutrophication and social evolution. Keith is fluent in English and French. Keith is a keen blues guitarist, having performed in bands and as a solo artist across England, Iceland and the States. He and has family have been foster carers for many years and live in a small village in Eastern Scotland.
Education
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BSc Hons (First Class), Botany, University of Dundee
PhD Plant Developmental Biology, University of Dundee
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Expert in social, economic and environmental sustainability, systems theory, evolutionary theory, ecology and thermodynamics. Author of over 40 peer reviewed articles and five books.
Personal Interests
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Keith loves playing music, attending live gigs and hill-walking. His favourite hobby is watching his son play football and playing tennis with him. He loves woodwork, a trait inherited from his grandfather, who was a master joiner. The smell of sawdust is the most powerfully evocative aroma for Keith, sending him back to his childhood and his grandfather's workshop in the small Irish village of Richill.
Books
Articles
Biosphere Evolution, Ecology and Sustainability: Why Thermodynamics and System Theory Matter.
Published: Jul 11, 2023 by Horizons in Earth Science Research Volume 24
Authors: Keith R. Skene
Subjects:
Economics, Finance, Business & Industry, Environment and Sustainability
This chapter explores the importance of systems theory and thermodynamics in terms of understanding the evolution, ecology and sustainability of the biosphere. Firstly, these key characteristics of the Earth system are identified, along with the consequences for the biosphere. Secondly, the role of thermodynamics as both a driver and constraint upon the biosphere is examined. The implications for environmental, social and economic sustainability are analysed.
Steering the circular economy: a new role for Adam Smith's invisible hand.
Published: Sep 14, 2022 by Circular Economy and Sustainability Volume 1: Management and Policy. Elsevier, London
Authors: Keith R. Skene
Subjects:
Economics, Finance, Business & Industry, Environment and Sustainability
In this chapter, we explore the significance of the invisible hand and its relevance to the circular economy. We then examine the honey economy of the Ogiek people, an indigenous tribe from Kenya, and introduce the concept of the invisible tripartite embrace, a version of the invisible hand, which interconnects the three arenas of human activity: economics, society and the environment.
How can economics contribute to environmental and social sustainability? The significance of systems theory and the embedded economy.
Published: Sep 09, 2022 by Frontiers in Sustainability
Authors: Keith R. Skene
Subjects:
Economics, Finance, Business & Industry, Business, Management and Accounting, Anthropology - Soc Sci, Environment and Sustainability
This paper introduces the concept of the embedded economy. The Earth System, like all complex, far-from-equilibrium systems, is self-organizing, self-assembling, emergent, non-linear and governed by real-time feedback and sub-optimality at each level of its organization. The consequences of these properties for our economic activities and, indeed, for our own species, are discussed.
Why ecosystem services should be counterbalanced by nature’s thermodynamic costs.
Published: Aug 22, 2022 by Ecological Services
Authors: Josef Seják, Jan Pokorný, Karl Seeley, and Keith R. Skene
Subjects:
Economics, Finance, Business & Industry, Business, Management and Accounting, Environment and Sustainability
The neoclassical, unilaterally-defined value concept of ecosystem services (ES) as ‘benefits’ must be counter-balanced by a transparent and valid assessment of thermodynamic costs that result from degrading mature climax ecosystems. incorporating solar energy dissipation losses as costs to ecosystems, the proper value relations can be achieved, with climax forests as the most valuable producers of supporting and regulating Ecosystem services.
Plant Thermodynamics
Published: Jun 15, 2022 by Frontiers in Plant Science
Authors: Bartolome Sabater and Keith R. Skene
Subjects:
Environment and Agriculture
An introduction to a special edition of papers on the subject of plant thermodynamics.
The circular economy: a critique of the concept.
Published: Jun 09, 2022 by Towards a Circular Economy.
Authors: Keith R. Skene
Subjects:
Economics, Finance, Business & Industry, Business, Management and Accounting, Environment and Sustainability
We begin by contextualizing the circular economy through its historical development. We compare and contrast the two dominant geo-political versions of the circular economy, the Chinese model and the Western (European) model, identifying differences and issues in underlying principles. Particular attention is paid to the impact of populist economics and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dual Circulation Strategy of the 14th Five Year Plan is then examined.
What is the unit of empowerment? An ecological perspective.
Published: Jan 01, 2022 by British Journal of Social Work
Authors: K.R. Skene
Subjects:
Anthropology - Soc Sci, Environment and Sustainability, Social Work
The article explores the spectrum of definitions of empowerment and of power, recognising the latter as the root concept of empowerment. Three units of empowerment are then identified: the individual, societal and ecological. Two forms of ecological empowerment, weak and strong, are detailed. It is then argued that empowerment is best understood from a strong ecological perspective.
The Dark Shadows of the Jolly Green Giants: Urgent Policy and Research Priorities in Renewable Energy Technologies. Sustainability and Climate change
Published: Oct 01, 2021 by Sustainability and Climate Change
Authors: Keith R. Skene
Subjects:
Built Environment, Environment and Sustainability
If we are to aim for a truly sustainable future, in terms of economics, ecology, and society, this article argues that we must seek to aim higher than current practice and plan for a future that not only arrests anthropogenic climate destabilization and its threat to many species, including our own, but that builds the foundations for ecological recovery. Better-than-before is not good enough. We need energy technologies that minimize our impact on our planet.
Sustainability policy and practice: Is nature an appropriate mentor?
Published: Aug 13, 2021 by Environment, Development and Sustainability
Authors: K.R. Skene
Subjects:
Environment and Sustainability
Nature has often been viewed as a mentor, claiming that by mimicking its forms, processes and ways of being, we can learn to live in such a way as to restore functionality to the planet while maintaining a vibrant economy. We examine three significant flaws in this approach. Given that most of these problems apply to almost all of the current schools of sustainability, we conclude by considering what threats to progress these flaws present, and how we can circumnavigate such difficulties.
Soil hydric properties and carbon stock in a semi-arid region of Iraqi Kurdistan: The importance of historical pedogenesis, climate and locality
Published: Dec 01, 2020 by Ecological Indicators
Authors: Aleš Kučera, Keith R Skene, Petr Kupec
Subjects:
Environment and Sustainability
Semi-arid ecosystems are recognized as key players in the carbon cycle, with a huge capacity for storing carbon but also with the downside of decarbonization during drier periods. t is important to understand the hydrological and carbon relationships of these ecosystems, and to encompass the huge inter-regional variation, while factoring in aspects of the historical pedogenesis that underpin much of the observed soil behaviour. We provide insight into the geosphere-hydrosphere-atmosphere nexus.
Photos
News
COP 26: Dr Keith Skene discusses his work on sustainability on the Climate Channel with Quamrul Chowdhury
By: Keith R. Skene
Subjects: Anthropology - Soc Sci, Economics, Finance, Business & Industry, Environment and Sustainability
In the build-up to COP26, Dr Keith Skene was interviewed on the Climate Channel relating to his work, inspiration and vision for a sustainable future.
Dr Keith Skene and Dr Eleni Iacovido discuss sustainability and system transformation at GCNYC
By: Keith R. Skene
Subjects: Economics, Finance, Business & Industry, Environment and Sustainability
GCNYC's Consumption and the Common Good series: Dr. Keith Skene and Dr. Eleni Iacovido conceive the multi-faceted sustainability crisis as a manifestation of a global natural system and adopt the policy point of view to chart a way forward. They approach sustainability and policy as researchers and practitioners committed to systemic transformation. Glasgow Caledonian New York College helps build future leaders of change through our sustainability-integrated master's programs.
Wigtown Book Festival
By: Keith R. Skene
Subjects: Environment and Sustainability
Artificial Intelligence and the Environmental Crisis: a talk given at the Wigtown Book Festival
Resolving the Climate Emergency YOuTube seminar by Dr Keith Skene
By: Keith R. Skene
Subjects: Anthropology - Soc Sci, Environment and Sustainability, Gender & Intersectionality Studies, Information Science, Other, Sociology, Sociology, Criminology and Criminal Justice
Dr Keith Skene discusses his book, Artificial Intelligence and the Environmental Crisis, at the Portobello Book Festival, available on YouTube, including a reading of the final chapter.
Videos
Published: Oct 13, 2021
Published: Nov 15, 2021
Published: Mar 06, 2021
Published: Dec 19, 2014
Keith Skene is director of the Biosphere Research Institute, an independent, international and multidisciplinary centre for global sustainability. He is the co-author of Sustainable Economics – Context, Challenges and Opportunities for the 21st Century Practitioner.