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Peter Howson

Senior Lecturer in International Development, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Peter Howson is a Researcher in International Development at Northumbria, where he leads the MSc in International Development.

His teaching and research interests span political ecology, critical theory, gender, race and development, ‘green violence’, blockchain-based environmental management and geo-politics in the Global South. Most of Pete's teaching draws on his research interests and professional experience in the Asia-Pacific region.

Before joining Northumbria, Pete was a Lecturer in International Development at Nottingham Trent University. In 2016 he was a Post-doc Researcher at Colorado State University, looking at Palau’s National Marine Sanctuary. Before that, he was based at University of Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand. His PhD research explored the political ecology of climate finance in Indonesia.

Pete's current projects include analysis of the ‘blue belt’ network of marine protection measures in the UK Overseas Territories. Peter is also looking at how cryptocurrencies and carbon trading are coming together to make trees more valuable standing than cut down, and what impacts the practice is having on forest-dependent communities in Indonesia.

Digital Currency Revolution

Crypto tolls in the Strait of Hormuz shows why bitcoin thrives in times of crisis

Apr 18, 2026 07:50 am UTC| Insights & Views Digital Currency

Bitcoin has long been promised to function as money. In practice, it rarely does. While 99% of transactions are still speculative trading, for as long as bitcoin has been a thing it has been used to skirt governments...

DeepSeek claims to have cured AI’s environmental headache. The Jevons paradox suggests it might make things worse

Feb 03, 2025 11:01 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

AI burns through a lot of resources. And thanks to a paradox first identified way back in the 1860s, even a more energy-efficient AI is likely to simply mean more energy is used in the long run. For most users, large...

Digital Currency Revolution

Bitcoin: China's crackdown isn't enough – only a global effort can stop crypto's monstrous energy demand

Jun 08, 2021 12:31 pm UTC| Digital Currency

Huge concrete data centres, permanently plugged into power plants and telephone exchanges, maintain much of online life. But the infrastructure behind internet-based cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, dogecoin and ethereum...

Blockchain Revolution Series

NFTs: why digital art has such a massive carbon footprint

Apr 04, 2021 10:00 am UTC| Technology

How much would you be willing to pay for a one-of-a-kind work of art? For some collectors, the limit lies somewhere in the region of hundreds of millions of dollars. What about a work of art that has no tangible form, and...

Digital Currency Revolution

Bitcoin isn't getting greener: four environmental myths about cryptocurrency debunked

Feb 20, 2021 12:38 pm UTC| Technology Digital Currency

The price of bitcoin has reached US$50,000 (36,095) another all-time high. Its hard to believe that 10,000 bitcoin would only buy a couple of pizzas ten years ago. Its even stranger to think that bitcoins are completely...

Economy

China opens new Arctic trade route – but obstacles will prevent its wider use

Sea Legend, a Chinese shipping line, recently announced it was launching a regular container service between China and Europe via the Arctic. The announcement follows a trial crossing in 2025 that saw a container ship...

US Dollar Heads for Worst Week Since July as Fiscal Concerns Mount

The U.S. dollar was on course Friday for its steepest weekly decline since late July as mounting fiscal concerns and unusual Treasury market intervention weighed on investor confidence. The U.S. Dollar Index, which...

Gold Prices Hit Three-Month High as Dollar Weakens

Gold prices surged to a three-month high on Friday and headed for strong weekly gains as a weaker U.S. dollar and mounting concerns over Treasury yields and government debt boosted demand for the precious metal. Spot gold...

Wall Street Ends Higher as Crypto Stocks and Materials Rally

Wall Street closed higher on Friday as gains in materials and cryptocurrency-related stocks helped offset renewed pressure from rising U.S. Treasury yields and elevated oil prices. The SP 500 gained 0.4% to finish at...

US Debt Tops $40 Trillion as Global Borrowing Costs Surge

U.S. government debt has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, highlighting growing fiscal pressures as major economies face rising spending demands from ageing populations, defence, climate change and higher interest...

Politics

NATO Facilitates Allied Talks on Strait of Hormuz Navigation

NATOs top military commander convened a videoconference this week to help interested allies coordinate potential contributions aimed at protecting freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while stressing that the...

Prince Harry, Elton John Ordered to Pay £9.54 Million in Daily Mail Legal Costs

Britains Prince Harry, singer Elton John and other prominent figures have been ordered to make a 9.54 million ($12.7 million) interim payment toward the legal costs of Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers after...

EU’s Von der Leyen Condemns Israel’s E1 West Bank Settlement Plan

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday strongly criticized Israels decision to issue construction tenders for the controversial E1 residential development in the occupied West Bank, adding to growing...

Trump Administration Moves to Strip ABA of Law School Accreditor Status

The U.S. Department of Education moved on Friday to revoke the American Bar Associations longstanding recognition as the official accreditor of U.S. law schools, escalating tensions between President Donald Trumps...

Prince Harry Faces Potential Multi-Million-Pound Legal Bill in Daily Mail Case

Prince Harry could soon learn how many millions of pounds he and other claimants must pay toward the legal costs of the publisher of the Daily Mail after losing a high-profile privacy lawsuit. On Friday, London High Court...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

29 US states are suing Meta. What might it mean for the rest of the world?

This week, a trial commenced in the United States that could drastically change how Facebook and Instagram operate globally. The trial in Oakland, which is expected to last six weeks, pits 29 US states against the two...

Want to muck around with a real quantum computer? Now you can

Quantum computers are expected to transform many facets of science and industry over the next decade or so but its very hard for most potential users to get their hands on one to find out what they can actually do with...

Anthropic IPO Could Challenge SpaceX’s Record $86 Billion Offering

Anthropic is reportedly considering an initial public offering that could rival or surpass SpaceXs record-breaking IPO, potentially making the artificial intelligence company responsible for the largest public share sale...

Samsung Shares Rise on $72 Billion Shareholder Return Plan

Samsung Electronics shares climbed on Friday following reports that the South Korean technology giant is preparing a shareholder return package potentially exceeding 100 trillion won ($72 billion). Samsungs board is...

Alibaba Shares Fall as AI Spending Hits Profit

Alibaba shares dropped nearly 3% in Hong Kong trading on Friday after the Chinese technology giant reported a steep decline in quarterly profit, as aggressive artificial intelligence investment weighed on earnings and cash...