The acceleration of global climate change creates a nexus for the examination of power, political rhetoric, science communication, and sustainable development. This book takes an international view ...of twenty first century environmental communication to critically explore mediated expressions of climate change.
This book is both a plea and an invitation to consider climate change from a multi-faceted perspective, taking into account (geo)physical, social, cultural, psychological, religious, mythological, ...economic, and judicial viewpoints, among others. As such, it will serve as a useful and necessary guide towards a better understanding of our own mental structures and systems of preferences, ideologies, or beliefs.
Prepared for the 2013 National Climate Assessment and a landmark study in terms of its breadth and depth of coverage, this report blends the contributions of 120 experts in climate science, ...economics, ecology, engineering, geography, hydrology, planning, resources management, and other disciplines to provide the most comprehensive, and understandable, analysis to date about climate and its effects on the people and landscapes of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah—including the U.S.-Mexico border region and the lands of Native Nations. What is the climate of the Southwest like today? What has it been like in the past, and how is it projected to change over the 21st century? How will that affect water resources, ecosystems, agricultural production, energy supply and delivery, transportation, human health, and a host of other areas? How vulnerable is the region to climate change? What else do we need to know about it, and how can we limit its adverse effects? In addressing these and other questions, the book offers decision makers and stakeholders a substantial basis from which to make informed choices that will affect the well-being of the region's inhabitants in the decades to come.
The future is not what it used to be because we can no longer rely on the comforting assumption that it will resemble the past. Past abundance of fuel, for example, does not imply unending abundance. ...Infinite growth on a finite planet is not possible. In this book, Jörg Friedrichs argues that industrial society itself is transitory, and he examines the prospects for our civilization's coming to terms with its two most imminent choke points: climate change and energy scarcity. He offers a thorough and accessible account of these two challenges as well as the linkages between them.Friedrichs contends that industrial civilization cannot outlast our ability to burn fossil fuels and that the demise of industrial society would entail cataclysmic change, including population decreases. To understand the social and political implications, he examines historical cases of climate stress and energy scarcity: devastating droughts in the ancient Near East; the Little Ice Age in the medieval Far North; the Japanese struggle to prevent "fuel starvation" from 1918 to 1945; the "totalitarian retrenchment" of the North Korean governing class after the end of Soviet oil deliveries; and Cuba's socioeconomic adaptation to fuel scarcity in the 1990s. He draws important lessons about the likely effects of climate and energy disruptions on different kinds of societies.The warnings of climate scientists are met by denial and inaction, while energy experts offer little guidance on the effects of future scarcity. Friedrichs suggests that to confront our predicament we must affirm our core values and take action to transform our way of life. Whether we are private citizens or public officials, complacency is not an option: climate change and energy scarcity are emerging facts of life.
Known for his original and courageous thinking on matters ranging from the treatment of animals to genetic screening, Peter Singer now turns his attention to the ethical issues surrounding ...globalization. In this provocative book, he challenges us to think beyond the boundaries of nation-states and consider what a global ethic could mean in today's world. Singer raises novel questions about such an ethic and, more important, he provides illuminating and practical answers. The book encompasses four main global issues: climate change, the role of the World Trade Organization, human rights and humanitarian intervention, and foreign aid. Singer addresses each vital issue from an ethical perspective and offers alternatives to the state-centric approach that characterizes international theory and relations today. Posing a bold challenge to narrow or nationalistic views, Singer presents a realistic, new way of looking at contemporary global issues-through a prism of ethics.
This book evaluates the global response to climate change from a cosmopolitan justice perspective. Going above and beyond existing studies, Dietzel neatly illustrates that climate justice theory can ...be used to normatively assess and compare both state (multilateral) and non-state (transnational) climate change governance – or, in other words, that theory and practice can be bridged. Investigating the role of states, cities, corporations, and non-governmental organisations in the post-Paris Agreement era, Dietzel provides fresh insight into the 'big picture' of climate change (mis)management and the injustices that come along with it. These insights allow her to make recommendations for change that should be of keen interest to climate justice scholars and climate governance practitioners alike.
Polar Cousins Leuprecht, Christian; Causey, Douglas
2022, Volume:
29
eBook
Open access
Geopolitics and climate change now have immediate consequences for national and international security interests across the Arctic and Antarctic. The world’s polar regions are contested and ...strategically central to geopolitical rivalry. At the same time, rapid political, social, and environmental change presents unprecedented challenges for governance, environmental protection, and maritime operations in the regions. With chapters that raise awareness, address challenges, and inform policy options, Polar Cousins reviews the state of strategic thinking and options on Antarctica and the Southern Oceans in light of experience in the circumpolar North. Prioritizing strategic issues, it provides an essential discussion of geostrategic thinking, strategic policy, and strategy development. Featuring contributions from international defence experts, scientists, academics, policymakers, and decisionmakers, Polar Cousins offers key insights into the challenges unique to the polar regions.
This book provides a new approach to thinking about the politics and geographies of climate governance. It argues that in order to understand the nature and potential of the range of new responses to ...climate change emerging at multiple scales we need to examine how governance is accomplished - how it is undertaken, practised and contested. Through a range of case studies drawn from communities, corporations and local government, the book examines how climate change comes to be governed and made to matter as an issue with which diverse publics should be concerned. It concludes that rather than seeking the solution to climate change once and for all, we need to engage with the ways in which we can channel our intentions to ameliorate the climate problem to more progressive ends. The book will be of interest to researchers, advanced students and policy makers across the social sciences.
