Morgan Robertson studies the intersection of market economics, environmental science and environmental politics and philosophy in North America and Australia.  As a political ecologist with a background in social theory and wetland biogeography, he explores the current attempts to create “markets in nature,” such as wetland credit markets, habitat and biodiversity offset markets, and carbon credit markets.  Morgan has conducted interview-based and participant-observation research among environmental consultants and regulatory personnel to understand the fine-scale dynamics of creating what appears to be the dominance of market forces in today’s political and economic rhetoric.  Morgan’s current research focuses on the daily and difficult scientific and representational work necessary to create stable expressions of value and price in new environmental credit markets.  Morgan worked for 2 ½ years at the Headquarters of the US Environmental Protection Agency developing federal wetlands rules, and maintains an active role and interest in American wetlands conservation policy and the Clean Water Act.  His research extends to the social constitution of “nature” as an object of desire, commodification and scientific knowledge, and he is particularly interested in current theoretical work on the relationship between political power and scientific concepts of ecology and nature.

Other interests include the growth and economy of the restoration ecology movement in the United States and elsewhere.  Morgan received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004.