politics of climate change final exam
brundtland report
"our common future" laid foundation for sustainable development as development that meets needs of present generation while also meeting the needs of the future generation; made for rio earth summit 1992
nations vs states
A state, or country, is a sovereign, self-governing political entity, for example any state in the United Nations. (The term state is also used to refer to a division of a federal system, as in the United States.) A nation is a group of people who feel bound by a common language, culture, religion, history, or ethnicity, such as the Kurds, who reside mostly in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, and the Basque, who inhabit parts of northern Spain and southern France. A nation-state occurs when a nation and a state largely coincide, for example Egypt, Hungary, and Japan. The terms state building and nation building are most often used these days as synonyms to refer to the process of building or rebuilding state institutions to create a legitimate and sustainable state.
UN Security council
An important division of the United Nations that contains five permanent members — the United States, Britain, China, France, and Russia — and ten rotating members. It is often called into session to respond quickly to international crises.
rising power of ngos, joseph nye
As these examples suggest, today's information age has been marked by the growing role of non-governmental organizations (NGO's) on the international stage. This is not entirely new, but modern communications have led to a dramatic increase in scale, with the number of NGO's jumping from 6,000 to approximately 26,000 during the 1990's alone. Nor do numbers tell the whole story, because they represent only formally constituted organizations. Many NGO's claim to act as a "global conscience," representing broad public interests beyond the purview of individual states. They develop new norms by directly pressing governments and businesses to change policies, and indirectly by altering public perceptions of what governments and firms should do. NGO's do not have coercive "hard" power, but they often enjoy considerable "soft" power - the ability to get the outcomes they want through attraction rather than compulsion. Because they attract followers, governments must take them into account both as allies and adversaries.
adaptation versus mitigation
Because we are already committed to some level of climate change, responding to climate change involves a two-pronged approach: -Reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (mitigation); -Adapting to the climate change already in the pipeline ("adaptation").
biofuels
Biofuels, fuels made from living matter, such as algae, have several advantages over fossil fuels. For example, biofuels: produce less greenhouse gases overall than fossil fuels when they are burned. are alternative sources to fossil fuels - allowing for greater fuel security for countries with little or no oil reserves of their own. The are two main types of biofuels: ethanol and biodiesel. ... While biofuels produced from agricultural crops can generate less pollution and greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fossil fuels, in practice, scientists are finding that some are causing environmental problems. Biofuels are also very expensive, and require a lot of space.
Carbon Sequestration
Carbon sequestration, the long-term storage of carbon in plants, soils, geologic formations, and the ocean. Carbon sequestration occurs both naturally and as a result of anthropogenic activities and typically refers to the storage of carbon that has the immediate potential to become carbon dioxide gas. In response to growing concerns about climate change resulting from increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, considerable interest has been drawn to the possibility of increasing the rate of carbon sequestration through changes in land use and forestry and also through geoengineering techniques such as carbon capture and storage.
Great Barrier Reef Obituary
Dead and dying are two very different things. If a person is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, their loved ones don't rush to write an obituary and plan a funeral. Likewise, species aren't declared extinct until they actually are. In a viral article entitled "Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC-2016)," however, writer Rowan Jacobsen proclaimed ― inaccurately and, we can only hope, hyperbolically ― that Earth's largest living structure is dead and gone. "The Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away in 2016 after a long illness," reads the sensational obituary, published Tuesday in Outside Magazine. "It was 25 million years old." There's no denying the Great Barrier Reef is in serious trouble, having been hammered in recent years by El Niño and climate change. In April, scientists from the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies found that the most severe coral bleaching event on record had impacted 93 percent of the reef. But as a whole, it is not dead. Preliminary findings published Thursday of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority surveys show 22 percent of its coral died from the bleaching event. That leaves more than three quarters still alive ― and in desperate need of relief.
love canal
In 1978, Love Canal, located near Niagara Falls in upstate New York, was a nice little working-class enclave with hundreds of houses and a school. It just happened to sit atop 21,000 tons of toxic industrial waste that had been buried underground in the 1940s and '50s by a local company, known as Hooker Chemical Company. Over the years, the waste began to bubble up into backyards and cellars. By 1978, the problem was unavoidable with several disturbing consequences (ex. birth defects, epilepsy, UTD) and hundreds of families, under the leadership of local mom Lois Gibbs, sold their houses to the federal government and evacuated the area. The disaster led to the formation in 1980 of the Superfund program, which helps pay for the cleanup of toxic sites.
International Environmental Law
International environmental law (sometimes, international ecological law) is a field of international law regulating the behavior of states and international organizations with respect to the environment. See Phillipe Sands, Principles of International Environmental Law, which Aims to present the essential elements of international environmental law. This book provides a general overview of why and how the international system elaborates environmental obligations and monitors compliance with them. world politics is essentially and unchangeably a struggle among self-interested states for power and position under anarchy, with each competing state pursuing its own interest at the expense of other states
carl sagans pale blue dot
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines.... 1994
aldo leopold, land ethic
Published in 1949 as the finale to A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold's "Land Ethic" essay is a call for moral responsibility to the natural world. At its core, the idea of a land ethic is simply caring: about people, about land, and about strengthening the relationships between them. we are a part of the natural world
rio convention
Rio Convention relates to the following three conventions, which are results of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. a large international meeting held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in 1992, at which the leaders of the countries of the United Nations discussed ways of protecting the environment and preserving the Earth's biodiversity. The earth summit in 1992 in rio was the first international gathering that addressed climate change and a need for "sustainable development." Following the Stockholm Conference and Montreal Protocol, this Summit discussed the Brundtland Report, "Our Common Future," and acknowledged that climate change was human-caused. It set a positive precedent for following conferences.
How is global warming linked to extreme weather?
Scientists agree that the earth's rising temperatures are fueling longer and hotter heat waves, more frequent droughts, heavier rainfall, and more powerful hurricanes. In 2015, for example, scientists said that an ongoing drought in California—the state's worst water shortage in 1,200 years—had been intensified by 15 percent to 20 percent by global warming. They also said the odds of similar droughts happening in the future had roughly doubled over the past century. And in 2016, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine announced that it's now possible to confidently attribute certain weather events, like some heat waves, directly to climate change. The earth's ocean temperatures are getting warmer, too—which means that tropical storms can pick up more energy. So global warming could turn, say, a category 3 storm into a more dangerous category 4 storm. In fact, scientists have found that the frequency of North Atlantic hurricanes has increased since the early 1980s, as well as the number of storms that reach categories 4 and 5. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina—the costliest hurricane in U.S. history—struck New Orleans; the second-costliest, Hurricane Sandy, hit the East Coast in 2012. The impacts of global warming are being felt across the globe. Extreme heat waves have caused tens of thousands of deaths around the world in recent years. And in an alarming sign of events to come, Antarctica has been losing about 134 billion metric tons of ice per year since 2002. This rate could speed up if we keep burning fossil fuels at our current pace, some experts say, causing sea levels to rise several meters over the next 50 to 150 years.
Largest obstacle for international policy?
Sovereignty, the way we are organized, problematic system for problems that transcend borders
International Regimes
Stephen D. Krasner defined International Regimes as "Implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules and decision-making procedures around which actors' expectations converge in a given area of international relations"in the journal International Organization in 1982.
Redefining Security
The 1990s will demand a redefinition of what constitutes national security. In the 1970s the concept was expanded to include international economics as it became clear that the U.S. economy was no longer the independent force it had once been, but was powerfully affected by economic policies in dozens of other countries. Global developments now suggest the need for another analogous, broadening definition of national security to include resource, environmental and demographic issues. Despite the headlines of 1988-the polluted coastlines, the climatic extremes, the accelerating deforestation and flooding that plagued the planet-human society has not arrived at the brink of some absolute limit to its growth. The planet may ultimately be able to accommodate the additional five or six billion people projected to be living here by the year 2100. But it seems unlikely that the world will be able to do so unless the means of production change dramatically. Global economic output has quadrupled since 1950 and it must continue to grow rapidly simply to meet basic human needs, to say nothing of the challenge of lifting billions from poverty. But economic growth as we currently know it requires more energy use, more emissions and wastes, more land converted from its natural state, and more need for the products of natural systems. Whether the planet can accommodate all of these demands remains an open question. Individuals and governments alike are beginning to feel the cost of substituting for (or doing without) the goods and services of nature.
Copenhagen
The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 and 18 December. The purpose of the Copenhagen Climate Council is to create global awareness of the importance of the UN Climate Summit (COP15) in Copenhagen, December 2009. ... Creating international awareness of the importance of the Copenhagen UN Climate Summit and the successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol.
How does the Aral Sea illustrate the difficulties associated with climate change?
The Aral Sea used to be one of the world's largest saline lakes, and it is located in Central Asia. The Soviet Union abused this water source in order to irrigate the surrounding regions for agriculture. The myth of abundance, the prioritization of monetary gain, and population growth, along with the naturally warm and dry climate of the area, are all contributors for the disastrous decline of the lake within recent decades. These contributors have also enhanced the effects of climate change, as well. The Aral Sea provides just one example of the vulnerability of both humans and natural resources to the effects of climate change. Both the Aral Sea and Climate Change represent environmental disasters as a consequence of an unhealthy relationship between man and nature.
ipcc
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific and intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations, set up at the request of member governments, dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective, scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts. set up by UNEP (UN Enviro Program) in 1988, led to creation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the key international treaty to reduce global warming and cope with the consequences of climate change.
keeling curve
The Keeling Curve is a graph that plots the ongoing change in concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere since the 1950s. It is based on continuous measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii that began under the supervision of Charles David Keeling. The jagged red line shows natural oscillations caused by annual plant growth cycles, while the increase over time is caused by human activities, especially the burning of fossil-fuels. From 1958 to now, the graph shows an increase from 300ppm of CO2 to 400ppm currently, with an annual increase currently of about 2ppm.
Climate Change and Carbon Sequestration
The Kyoto Protocol under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change allows countries to receive credits for their carbon-sequestration activities in the area of land use, land-use change, and forestry as part of their obligations under the protocol. Such activities could include afforestation (conversion of nonforested land to forest), reforestation (conversion of previously forested land to forest), improved forestry or agricultural practices, and revegetation. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), improved agricultural practices and forest-related mitigation activities can make a significant contribution to the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at relatively low cost. These activities could include improved crop and grazing land management—for instance, more efficient fertilizer use to prevent the leaching of unused nitrates, tillage practices that minimize soil erosion, the restoration of organic soils, and the restoration of degraded lands.
kyoto protocol
The Kyoto Protocol, also known as the Kyoto Accord, is an international treaty among industrialized nations that sets mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions. The greenhouse effect is the warming effect of the sun on greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, that act to trap this heat in our atmosphere. signed 1997. countries representing 50% of the emissions agree, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol made a distinction between proposed goals for developed and developing countries by requiring "developed countries to reduce their emissions while developing countries only needed to report their emissions."
millennium development goals
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world's poorest people. To meet these goals and eradicate poverty, leaders of 189 countries signed the historic millennium declaration at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000. Agenda 2030
what we can learn from montreal protocol
The Montreal Protocol is a landmark environmental agreement that has achieved unprecedented success. first fully internationally ratified environmental protocol by UN, ratified by 197 nations. In 1974 when Drs. Mario Molina and Sherwood Rowland published their theory that CFCs - chemicals used in hundreds of important applications - could damage the Ozone Layer, no one could have predicted that almost thirty years later we would be celebrating the elimination of nearly all the production and consumption of these chemicals around the world. We can celebrate this result because of the hard work of those individuals and organizations being recognized this week by UNEP. The United States is deeply grateful for the time, energy, and passion invested by so many in making the ambition of healing the Ozone Layer a reality. Since President Reagan urged the adoption of the Vienna Convention in 1985, every U.S. administration since has been committed to the success of this vital accord. How was the promise of the Protocol realized? I believe the answer is "through the power of consensus." Consensus is a universally agreed to expression of political will and commitment to achieve an agreed objective., Without consensus an agreement may have more limited impact. Each of the following elements helped to foster a rich environment for consensus in the case of the Montreal Protocol by laying the appropriate foundations for decision-making and also providing enough flexibility to satisfy the many and different concerns of the many and different actors. These elements are: agreement on ambitious but pragmatic goals; flexible approaches to implementation;a solid foundation of partnership between developed and developing countries and;commitment to science and science based decision making. As we think about other environmental challenges we face, such as tackling the complex issue of climate change, we can certainly take lessons from our experience under the Montreal Protocol. Ultimately, in order for there to be a consensus approach to this issue, we must identify a path forward that provides for economic growth while also allowing for new and better technologies that minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing climate change must become synonymous with promoting sustainable and clean economic development to achieve the broad-based and long-term political consensus necessary to ensure action and sustained commitment. Another hallmark of the Protocol is its flexible design-- which sets the level of required reductions but does not specify the means that must be used to achieve them. In the United States, we have used tradable permits to control the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances and have encouraged re-use of ozone depleting substances in our domestic regimes. Other nations have chosen different paths. The Protocol's structure, which focuses on the ends not the means, has helped encourage nearly universal participation in the treaty and created a culture of compliance where both developed and developing countries have an impressive track record of not only meeting their obligations but, in fact, exceeding them. In addressing other environmental concerns, we can benefit from taking a similar approach. We can set overall goals while allowing and encouraging countries to meet those goals using approaches that best suit their particular circumstances.
montreal protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons that are responsible for ozone depletion. signed 1987, ratified by 197 nations
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations, created in 1936. Non-government organization meant to: connect people to nature, stop global warming, protect and restore natural wildlife habitats.
Paris accord
The Paris Agreement, Paris climate accord or Paris climate agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020. 196 nations signed the Paris Agreement, the first time — since climate change rocketed to the top of the list of global issues — that the world has agreed on a path forward but the US withdrew bc Trump. signed 2016
drawing connections between montreal protocol, paris agreement, and kyoto
The Paris Climate Agreement has been widely hailed as a major diplomatic success and a good first step for world governments to ramp up their mitigation ambitions. As more than 160 world leaders gathered in april 2016 in New York for the agreement's signing ceremony, climate action had perhaps never been higher on the global governance agenda - but there's more to be said and done to avert billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases from damaging our precious climate. Most importantly, the Montreal Protocol is that year geared up to agree an amendment to phase down the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), dangerously potent greenhouse gases widely used in refrigeration whose projected growth is likely to derail any climate mitigation commitments. This move would represent the single most effective climate mitigation measure within easy reach and would complement the commitments made in Paris. Paris Agreement - what does it mean for the climate? As opposed to the Kyoto Protocol, which was undermined by low targets and selective international participation, the Paris Agreement is a universal climate accord expected to push the governments of both developed and developing nations to commit to a low carbon future. At the core of the agreement is the 'bottom-up' process of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) already submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) comprising emissions targets and policies for the 2020-30 period. An important outcome from Paris is that the goal of holding average global temperature increase below 2°C was strengthened in the Paris Agreement to 'well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C'. To achieve this goal, parties aim to reach the global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible. Moreover, countries are duty-bound to strengthen commitments every five years to reduce greenhouse gases, the so-called 'ratchet-up mechanism'. A stocktake of global mitigation efforts will happen from 2023 onwards every five years, with a pilot 'facilitative dialogue' in 2018 to assess countries' interim efforts. Action prior to 2020 was also given special attention in Paris with a decision, alongside the agreement text, to hold high-level meetings of governments, non-state actors, civil society and business representatives to showcase and enhance climate plans. Hydrofluorocarbons and other short-lived climate forcers need to be tackled as a matter of urgency Even with full implementation of the INDCs submitted so far, the 2015 UN's 'Emissions gap report' calculates that the world is on a path consistent with a greater than 3°C temperature rise. EIA has long advocated amending the Montreal Protocol to bring about a global phase-down of HFCs as one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to reduce the 'gigatonne gap'. Proposals being discussed have the potential to avoid over 100 billion tonnes of CO2e by 2050, equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from almost 24,000 coal fired power plants in one year. Moreover, getting rid of HFCs would mean one of the seven greenhouse gases would be almost eliminated through upstream regulation - an effective type of environmental regulation aimed at tackling consumption and production, thus eliminating both supply and demand for HFCs. The Montreal Protocol has successfully applied this form of regulation to eliminate ozone-depleting substances and put the ozone layer on a path to recovery. After parties adopted the 'Dubai pathway on HFCs' in November 2015 and committed to agree a phase-down amendment in 2016, a working group in Geneva at the beginning of this month was entirely dedicated to solving the challenges towards an amendment. HFCs are uniquely placed as a perfect fit for near-term climate mitigation as their atmospheric lifetime is relatively short but their climate impact is thousands of times more powerful than CO2. This means that immediate cuts in HFC consumption and production will rapidly contribute to lowering greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, helping to avoid dangerous climate tipping points. The signing of the Paris Climate Agreement today is largely symbolic, with ratification from at least 55 countries representing a minimum of 55 per cent of global emissions required for it to become operational. What will really count in the end are the actions taken by the world's governments, both within and outside the UNFCCC, to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions. If policymakers fail to utilise all available climate mitigation levers to reduce emission levels in the short term, there is no credible scenario to avoid the worst climate change consequences. A global agreement in 2016 to phase down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol is a vital first step to demonstrating that the Paris agreement can, and will, succeed.
sustainable development goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. These 17 Goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals, while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities. The goals are interconnected - often the key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another. The SDGs work in the spirit of partnership and pragmatism to make the right choices now to improve life, in a sustainable way, for future generations. They provide clear guidelines and targets for all countries to adopt in accordance with their own priorities and the environmental challenges of the world at large. The SDGs are an inclusive agenda. They tackle the root causes of poverty and unite us together to make a positive change for both people and planet. "Poverty eradication is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda, and so is the commitment to leave no-one behind," UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said. "The Agenda offers a unique opportunity to put the whole world on a more prosperous and sustainable development path. In many ways, it reflects what UNDP was created for."
What are the UNEP and the UNDP? Why are they significant in the fight against Climate Change?
The UNEP is the United Nations Environment Programme, and is the central international leader for the global environmental agenda for the implementation of sustainable development policies within the United nations framework. The UNEP is essential because it provides an authoritative disciplinarian for the fight against climate change and holds the UN accountable for its policies protecting the planet. The UNDP is the United Nations Development Programme. Their main focus is to help countries with sustainable development, democratic governance and peace building, as well as climate and disaster resilience. Their efforts are essential for the eradication of poverty, inequality and consequences of climate change. The UNDP is a key supporter of the Sustainable Development Goals, which are helping countries protect the needs of the planet and people.
climate versus weather
The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time, such as periods of 30 years.
carbon footprint
The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Federalism and climate change
There is a clear understanding in the context of federalism that the entire discourse of federalism is heavily influenced by political considerations and policy necessities. The propose study broadly aims to assess climate change as an overarching policy issue in the federal system and how such an emerging issues are being debated and tackled in various institutional and policy frameworks. The study further seeks to analyze the role of the constituent units of federalism, i.e., the States in America, in mitigating the challenges of climate change.. state versus federal government, ex: California
How can Tragedy of the Commons be applied to Climate Change?
Though Garret Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons was written about population growth exceeding the planet's carrying capacity, its central concept of unregulated common resources being abused due to humans always acting according to their own self interest can be applied to many models, such as climate change. With the model of climate change, the planet's fossil fuels and natural greenhouse gas framework have been abused because of the general lifestyle that prioritizes money and standard of living over the needs of the planet. The solution Garret Hardin presents for the tragedy of the commons, "mutual coercion mutually agreed upon," can also be applied to climate change, as well. "Mutual coercion mutually agreed upon," in this sense, reflects both national and international policy (for example, the Montreal Protocol) that seek to regulate the use of the commons, or natural resources, in order to prevent complete destruction of such commons.
Bears ears controversy
Trump reduced this National Monument by 85%, leaving 2 million acres of the original monument currently vulnerable, and also fragmenting the remaining land. This site that has become the symbol of the battle over America's protected public lands. The monument, a vast, remote stretch of red rock canyons, dotted with Native American sites, was reduced by 85 percent - more than a million acres - and divided into two disconnected parks. The nearby Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, designated by President Bill Clinton in 1996, was also diminished by 45 percent. Soon after the announcement, five Native American tribes sued the Trump administration, arguing that Mr. Trump was "attempting to, in effect, abolish the Bears Ears National Monument." Several more lawsuits have since been filed by conservation, historical and outdoor industry groups. Bears Ears has attracted controversy since President Obama announced in December 2016 that he would protect the 1.35 million-acre site in southeastern Utah as a national monument. Republicans were quick to denounce the large, late-term declaration as a "federal land grab" and an overreach of executive power. More recently, Bears Ears has become a focus for conservation groups and other organizations that oppose the Trump administration's drive to open up public lands for development, agriculture, mining and other uses. Companies like Patagonia and R.E.I. have strongly supported keeping Bears Ears and other monuments intact.
How can urban planning and sustainable development be used as a proactive step to adapt to/mitigate climate change?
Urban planning assists in the fight against climate change because it reduces the carbon footprint and energy consumption of urban communities. It's essential for sustainable development, because via urban planning, one can ensure that the needs of the current population are secure while also protecting the needs of natural resources for future generations. A focus on urban design can reduce a community's carbon footprint, strengthen social cohesion, create health benefits for the community, reduce energy costs, and improve the resilience of the community. This not only curbs climate change, but it also helps a community to develop in a circular manner, rather than grow in a linear manner.
Why is wind a viable alternative energy option? What makes this energy source better than using fossil fuels?
Wind, among other renewable energy resources, is much better for the environment, our health and the economy, because it reduces the carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, thus reducing the global warming (climate change) phenomenon. Wind energy, especially, emits no pollution and is considered "a clean fuel source," which is not only great for the environment, but also for our health. Wind power is also cost-effective, potentially beneficial for the economy, domestic and sustainable, which are all great attributes for alternative energy options.
YERT synopsis
YERT (Your Environmental Road Trip) is a year-long eco-expedition through all 50 United States. With video camera in hand and tongue in cheek, we explore the landscape of America's unique approach to environmental sustainability. We believe that Americans want to do the right thing - they just don't want to look strange doing it, and they don't have the time or the means to explore all the options. "50 States. 1 Year. Zero Garbage? Called to action by a planet in peril, three friends hit the road - traveling with hope, humor, and all of their garbage - to explore every state in America (the good, the bad...and the weird) in search of the extraordinary innovators and citizens who are tackling humanity's greatest environmental crises. As the YERT team layers outlandish eco-challenges onto their year-long quest, an unexpected turn of events pushes them to the brink in this award-winning docs-comedy."
climate change
a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
global warming
a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants. Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants and greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth's surface. Normally, this radiation would escape into space—but these pollutants, which can last for years to centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter. That's what's known as the greenhouse effect. In the United States, the burning of fossil fuels to make electricity is the largest source of heat-trapping pollution, producing about two billion tons of CO2 every year. Coal-burning power plants are by far the biggest polluters. The country's second-largest source of carbon pollution is the transportation sector, which generates about 1.7 billion tons of CO2 emissions a year.
nation state
a sovereign state whose citizens or subjects are relatively homogeneous in factors such as language or common descent.
arnold schwarznegger
carbon terminator, says environmentalists have been going about this the wrong way, says environmentalists are like prohibitionists at a college party, always saying no - buzzkills, says negativity gets us nowhere
Death of environmentalism
environmentalists are too caught up in the technical solutions of environmental problems, such as car efficiency. The Argument for the Death of Environmentalism Michael Shellenberger, co-author of a controversial essay "The Death of Environmentalism," argues the environmental movement needs to work on attracting popular support. He accuses environmentalists of losing sight of saving the environment amid political interests.
apollo 17
first full picture of the earth, 1972
tragedy of the commons
garret harden's essay on population growth that can be applied to any common resource; The tragedy of the commons is a term used in social science to describe a situation in a shared-resource system where individual users acting independently according to their own self-interest behave contrary to the common good of all users by depleting or spoiling that resource through their collective action. overfishing, climate change,
growth versus development
growth refers to a linear model, often exponential in form. In this case, quantity is valued over quality. Development, on the other hand, refers to a circular model of internal advancement and improvement, in which quality is valued over quantity. sometimes, growth can have a veery detrimental effect on the quality of an object, such as in the growth of cancer, or the unregulated growth of the height of an individual past normal development, such as the case for andre the giant.
3 main arguments skeptics and deniers use
not happening, not caused by us, actually good
anthroprocene
relating to or denoting the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment
conservatism
resisting change
Precautionary Principle
the principle that the introduction of a new product or process whose ultimate effects are disputed or unknown should be resisted. It has mainly been used to prohibit the importation of genetically modified organisms and food.
Does adaptation take away from mitigation?
think about it
What is sustainable development? Why is it problematic?
• Brundtland report definition, intergenerational vs intragenerational • Already a lot of unsustainable development, would have to redesign existing development • Expensive in time and money • Development vs growth, quality vs quantity • Cancer, child development/growth • Controlled development
Alternative energy options with cons
• Hydroelectric energy- dams rivers; prevents migration of animals • Wind farms- wind inconsistent, birds die • Solar- large startup cost, sun not always shining, technology not harnessing that much energy • Geothermal- limited access • Nuclear- no ghg emissions, but nuclear waste
Why is it not wise to buy property in Venice?
• Poor infrastructure, rising water levels, sinking city, rising water 0.1 inch a year, climate change doesn't affect everyone equally, poorly panned, will hopefully survive until 2050 • Coastal cities and climate change, tourism
Pros and cons of natural gas?
• Pros: already well-established, more viable, financially easier solution compared to other energy alternatives, more clean drilling, cleaner and more efficient than coal, • Cons: Disrupting earth crust, earthquakes, carbon emissions, depleting ozone due to ghg emission, fracking causes problems, emits methane (25x more potent than CO2), still a commitment to a nonrenewable, ghg emitting fossil fuel, less money to greener alternatives, picking low-lying fruit
Lessons from Aral Sea?
• Redirected river water supply of lake to help irrigation of agriculture, tried to grow cotton as export crop but it is a water intensive crop, used pesticide which has led to lung disorders in this arid region, majority of southern area of lake is gone, killed existing economic industries like fisheries and • Be meticulous in how you plan projects, esp big projects, start small so you can think of every contingency before scaling up, solutions to problems can sometimes make even bigger problem (like CFCs- considered solution bc stable, but then caused problem in ozone layer)
What has Miami been doing due to climbing water levels?
• Spent $400 million on street raising project; The water goes through drainage systems with rising water levels, so they have set up systems that close off the drainage systems so backflow doesn't occur; have giant machines to pump out water from flooded areas • Adaptation (rather than mitigation)
prisoners dilemma
(in game theory) a situation in which two players each have two options whose outcome depends crucially on the simultaneous choice made by the other, often formulated in terms of two prisoners separately deciding whether to confess to a crime. stresses importance of communication and education and iteration
Civil Society & NGOs
1. The aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest interests and will of citizens OR 2. Individuals and organizations in a society which are independent of the government
