Abstract
The paper compares two regions on the basis of the discourses published in well disseminated publications, complemented with field work. Western Bahia, a region of intensive agriculture, is compared to the Eagle Ford Shale, a region of unconventional oil and gas production. I focus on how elites use sustainability in environmental governance to justify continued resource extraction in agriculture and hydrocarbons. I emphasize how spectacles function to enhance "regional prestige" (CHASE, 2003) and how social aspects of sustainability help consolidate the resource-extraction ambitions of elites. In both cases, regional elites do not reproduce verbatim national discourses; rather, elites invest in either translating national discourses into regional form, or channeling regional concerns and constraints into new discursive solutions to keep resource extraction possible.
Key words:
Agriculture; Petroleum; Elites; Discourses; Sustainability
