Climate change is genuinely global, dominantly intergenerational, and takes place in a setting where our prescriptive theories are weak. This “perfect moral storm” poses a profound challenge to ...humanity. This book explains the storm, how it makes sense of our current malaise, and why better ethics can help. This book argues that despite decades of awareness, we are currently accelerating hard into the climate problem in a way that defies standard explanations. It claims that this suggests that our current focus on the scientific and economic questions is too narrow, and that the tendency to see the political problem as a traditional tragedy of the commons facing nation states is too optimistic. Instead, the key issue is that the current generation, and especially the most affluent, are in a position to pass on most of the costs of their behavior (and especially the most serious harms) to the global poor, future generations and nonhuman nature. This tyranny of the contemporary is a deeper problem than the traditional tragedy of the commons. Moreover, the book argues that this diagnosis helps to explain both the past failures of international climate policy (e.g., the “shadow solutions” of Kyoto and Copenhagen), and the current push towards geoengineering. Part of the solution, it argues, is better public ethics. We must work harder on articulating both the ethical problem, and moral constraints on solutions. In addition, there is a role for “defensive” moral and political philosophy, aimed at preserving the quality of public discourse.
Prispevek se osredotoča na Ifisino/Ifisovo zgodbo o spremembi ženske v moškega iz Ovidijevih Metamorfoz. Pretresa jo skozi vprašanje, kako pristopiti k problemu imenovanja časovno in kulturno ...oddaljenega spola in seksualnosti, do tega, na kakšne načine je možno opredeliti ideologijo, vezano za motiv spremembe ženske v moškega v Ovidijevi zastavitvi. Izhodišče razprave je, da spol, seksualnost in pripadajoča historična imena v prvi vrsti razume kot oblastna razmerja. Slednja svoja ideološka oporišča najdevajo tudi v »literaturi«, ki zato to nemogoče, čarobno in domišljijsko, bistveno omejuje. Skozi širšo analizo rimske in helenistične falocentričnosti, maskulinizacije in anahronizacije tribas ter problema zastavitve lezbištva kot monstruoznega, tujerodnega (grškega), skratka oksimorona, razpravo naposled odpre dekonstrukcijskemu zaključku, v katerem postane jasneje vsaj to, na čem je tejrezijansko vprašanje o človekovem užitku dejansko osnovano.
V prispevku so predstavljene dvojinske končnice samostalnikov vseh treh spolov, izpričane v slovenskem knjižnem jeziku 16. stoletja. Na podlagi obsežnega gradiva so predstavljena razmerja med njimi ...ter glasovni in nalikovni procesi, ki so vplivali na razvoj dvojnic pri posameznih končnicah. S primerjavo med različnimi izdajami besedil slovenskih protestantskih piscev je opozorjeno tudi na smer jezikovnih sprememb v dvojinskih samostalniških sklanjatvah.1
From a Nobel Prize–winning pioneer in environmental economics, an innovative account of how and why "green thinking" could cure many of the world's most serious problems—from global warming to ...pandemics Solving the world's biggest problems—from climate catastrophe and pandemics to wildfires and corporate malfeasance—requires, more than anything else, coming up with new ways to manage the powerful interactions that surround us. For carbon emissions and other environmental damage, this means ensuring that those responsible pay their full costs rather than continuing to pass them along to others, including future generations. In The Spirit of Green, Nobel Prize–winning economist William Nordhaus describes a new way of green thinking that would help us overcome our biggest challenges without sacrificing economic prosperity, in large part by accounting for the spillover costs of economic collisions.In a discussion that ranges from the history of the environmental movement to the Green New Deal, Nordhaus explains how the spirit of green thinking provides a compelling and hopeful new perspective on modern life. At the heart of green thinking is a recognition that the globalized world is shaped not by isolated individuals but rather by innumerable interactions inside and outside the economy. He shows how rethinking economic efficiency, sustainability, politics, profits, taxes, individual ethics, corporate social responsibility, finance, and more would improve the effectiveness and equity of our society. And he offers specific solutions—on how to price carbon, how to pursue low-carbon technologies, how to design an efficient tax system, and how to foster international cooperation through climate clubs.The result is a groundbreaking new vision of how we can have our environment and our economy too.
Most semi-natural open habitats in Europe have been traditionally maintained by anthropogenic activities, such as grazing or mowing, preventing the establishment of woody vegetation. These habitats ...harbour a remarkably rich biodiversity in terms of both plant and animal species, but are also highly threatened, mainly by agricultural intensification and land abandonment. With this Editorial we introduce a Special Issue initiated by the European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) at the Open Landscapes Conference (Hildesheim, 2013) and the 11th European Dry Grassland Meeting (Kulikovo Pole, 2014). We aim to give a short introduction to the current conservation status, significance and research of semi-natural open habitats in Europe and present the collected articles of the Special Issue. These papers cover a wide range of different semi-natural open habitats, including wood-pastures, heathlands, steppes, semi-dry and dry grasslands across the Palearctic region and address issues related to the assessment methods, threats, management and restoration of these habitats. We conclude that, in order to ensure their conservation and to monitor the changes in open habitats, integrative approaches are needed that take into account not only vegetation records, but also multiple animal taxa, abiotic factors, management practices, ecosystem services and modelling simulations for anticipating possible future scenarios. We also recommend that decision-makers should support actions to conserve open habitats in Europe by addressing such major challenges as the encroachment of woody vegetation. We are convinced that the present Special Issue will contribute to a better understanding of ecosystem functions and support the biodiversity conservation and management of semi-natural open habitats.
Večino pol naravnih odprtih habitatov v Evropi tradicionalno vzdržuje s svojim delovanjem človek, kot na primer s pašo ali košnjo, in tako preprečuje zaraščanje z lesnato vegetacijo. Ti habitati so biodiverzitetno zelo bogati z rastlinskimi in živalskimi vrstami, vendar tudi močno ogroženi zaradi intenzifikacije kmetijstva in opuščanja obdelave. V uvodu želimo predstaviti posebno številko revije, ki jo je vzpodbudila Evropska skupina za suha travišča (EDGG) na konferenci Open Landscapes (Hildesheim, 2013) in na 11. srečanju skupine (Kulikovo Pole, 2014). Predstaviti želimo trenutni varstveni status, pomen in raziskave pol naravnih odprtih habitatov v Evropi in zbrane članke v posebni številki. Ti članki obravnavajo širok nabor različnih pol naravnih odprtih habitatov, med njimi gozdne pašnike, resave, stepe, pol suha in suha travišča palearktične regije in obravnavajo metode njihove presoje, njihovo ogroženost, gospodarjenje in obnovo. Zaključimo lahko, da moramo poleg vegetacijskih popisov upoštevati tudi številne živalske vrste, abiotske dejavnike, načine gospodarjenja, ekosistemske usluge in modeliranje predvidenih možnih prihodnjih scenarijev, če želimo zagotoviti njihovo ohranjanje in spremljanje sprememb. Predlagamo tudi, da nosilci odločanja podprejo prizadevanja za ohranjanje odprtih habitatov v Evropi z obravnavanjem tako velikih izzivov kot je zaraščanje z lesnato vegetacijo. Prepričani smo, da bo posebna številka prispevala k boljšemu razumevanju ekosistemskih funkcij in omogočila ohranjanje biodiverzitete in gospodarjenje spol naravnimi odprtimi habitati.
The notional passive construction (NPC, henceforth) is claimed to be the most common form of passive and the earliest mode of passive expression in Chinese. However, under the view of cognitive ...construction grammar, NPC remains a mystery with its form not clearly defined and its function not particularly discussed. Taking a character-based historical approach, this paper studies the form designated by NPC, the ‘theme + verbal’ structure in corpus data. Results show that the ‘theme + verbal’ structure is extremely stable in the history of the Chinese language, denoting change of state. In conjunction with some cross-linguistic findings, a change-of-state construction can thereby be proposed for the form ‘theme + verbal’. Accordingly, the idea of the so-called “notional passive construction” is challenged in the way that it essentially refers to a special situation of the change-of-state construction when the event expressed by the verbal is not likely to occur spontaneously- it is not a construction itself, yet plausibly passive.
A discerning analysis of the future effects of climate
change on Russia, the major power most dependent on the fossil fuel
economy. Russia will be one of the countries most affected
by climate ...change. No major power is more economically dependent on
the export of hydrocarbons; at the same time, two-thirds of
Russia's territory lies in the arctic north, where melting
permafrost is already imposing growing damage. Climate change also
brings drought and floods to Russia's south, threatening the
country's agricultural exports. Thane Gustafson predicts that, over
the next thirty years, climate change will leave a dramatic imprint
on Russia. The decline of fossil fuel use is already underway, and
restrictions on hydrocarbons will only tighten, cutting fuel prices
and slashing Russia's export revenues. Yet Russia has no
substitutes for oil and gas revenues. The country is unprepared for
the worldwide transition to renewable energy, as Russian leaders
continue to invest the national wealth in oil and gas while
dismissing the promise of post-carbon technologies. Nor has the
state made efforts to offset the direct damage that climate change
will do inside the country. Optimists point to new
opportunities-higher temperatures could increase agricultural
yields, the melting of arctic ice may open year-round shipping
lanes in the far north, and Russia could become a global
nuclear-energy supplier. But the eventual post-Putin generation of
Russian leaders will nonetheless face enormous handicaps, as their
country finds itself weaker than at any time in the preceding
century. Lucid and thought-provoking, Klimat shows how
climate change is poised to alter the global order, potentially
toppling even great powers from their perches.
Environmental problems – particularly climate change – have become increasingly important to governments and social researchers in recent decades. Debates about their implications for social policies ...and welfare reforms are now moving towards centre stage. What has been missing from such debates is an account of the history of the welfare state in relation to environmental issues and green ideas.
A Green History of the Welfare State fills this gap. How have the environmental and social policy agendas developed? To what extent have welfare systems been informed by the principles of environmental ethics and politics? How effective has the welfare state been at addressing environmental problems? How might the history of social policies be reimagined? With its lively, chronological narrative, this book provides answers to these questions. Through overviews of key periods, politicians and reforms the book weaves together a range of subjects into a new kind of historical tapestry, including: social policy, economics, party politics, government action and legislation, and environmental issues.
This book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of environmental policy and history, social and public policy, social history, sociology and politics.
Changes of species composition, plant community strategy and functional response trait turnover were studied in a succession from dry pastures to a forest community (oak-hornbeam forests). The ...following question was asked: are functional response traits and plant community strategies indicators of TAA (time since agricultural land use abandonment), thus of a specific succession stage. Indirect gradient analysis (DCA) was used in order to observe the position of the relevés along the axis and to correlate it with TAA. It was found that the position of relevés on DCA axis 1 is our proxy for TAA. Correlations (Spearman’s rho) between the occurrence of plant functional traits and TAA were performed. Low-growing herb species with scleromorphic leaves and green or red flowers are the predominant plant type on grassland areas, while plant species with digitate, hydro or mesomorphic leaves and white flowers typically prevail in forest. The proportion of chamaephytes increases immediately after land abandonment (afforestation). In a closed forest stand, there are many more herb species with vegetative propagation (bulbils). Herbal species in those stands most often reward pollinators with pollen. The ecological strategy of the entire plant community changes with spontaneous afforestation. On grassland, stress-tolerant species are dominant. After 10 years, the community is defined as CS and after 200 years as a community with a C-CS strategy.
Raziskava se ukvarja s spreminjanjem funkcionalnih rastlinskih znakov, ekoloških značilnosti vrst in ekološke strategije združbe skozi posamezne stadije zaraščanja pašnikov v odvisnosti od časa opustitve kmetijske rabe (TAA). V raziskavi smo uporabili multivariatno DCA analizo in opazovali položaj florističnih popisov v DCA prostoru in jih korelirali s TAA. Izračunali smo Spearmanov korelacijski koeficient med pojavnostjo posameznega rastlinskega funkcionalnega znaka in TAA. Nizkorastoče zeliščne vrste s sklerofilnimi listi in cvetovi rumenih in rdečih barv so prevladujoč tip rastlin na pašnikih. V gozdovih prevladujejo vrste z deljenimi, hidro ali mezomorfnimi listi in s svetlejšimi (belimi) cvetovi. Delež hamefitov se v združbi po opustitvi kmetijske rabe močno poveča (proces zaraščanja). V sklenjenem gozdnem sestoju je opazen večji delež zeliščnih vrst, ki se razmnožujejo vegetativno (zarodni brstiči ipd.). Omenjene zeliščne vrste privabljajo opraševalce največkrat s cvetnim prahom. Ekološka strategija celotne združbe se preko sekundarne sukcesije spreminja. Na pašnikih prevladujejo stres-toleratorji. Po desetih letih ima združba strategijo kompetitor/ stres tolerator, po dvesto letih pa kompetitor- kompetitor/ stres tolerator.
The year 1989 brought the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was also the year that the economic theories of Reagan, Thatcher, and the Chicago School achieved ...global dominance. And it was these neoliberal ideas that largely determined the course of the political, economic, and social changes that transformed Europe—both east and west—over the next quarter century. This award-winning book provides the first comprehensive history of post-1989 Europe. Philipp Ther—a firsthand witness to many of the transformations, from Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution to postcommunist Poland and Ukraine—offers a sweeping narrative filled with vivid details and memorable stories. He describes how liberalization, deregulation, and privatization had catastrophic effects on former Soviet Bloc countries. He refutes the idea that this economic "shock therapy" was the basis of later growth, arguing that human capital and the “transformation from below” determined economic success or failure. Most important, he shows how the capitalist West's effort to reshape Eastern Europe in its own likeness ended up reshaping Western Europe as well, in part by accelerating the pace and scope of neoliberal reforms in the West, particularly in reunified Germany. Finally, bringing the story up to the present, Ther compares events in Eastern and Southern Europe leading up to and following the 2008–9 global financial crisis. A compelling and often-surprising account of how the new order of the New Europe was wrought from the chaotic aftermath of the Cold War, this is essential reading for understanding Europe today. Philipp Ther is professor of Central European history and director of the Institute of European History at the University of Vienna.
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