Science and the Global Environment


Book Description

Case Studies for Integrating Science and the Global Environment is designed to help students of the environment and natural resources make the connections between their training in science and math and today's complex environmental issues. The book provides an opportunity for students to apply important skills, knowledge, and analytical tools to understand, evaluate, and propose solutions to today's critical environmental issues. The heart of the book includes four major content areas: water resources; the atmosphere and air quality; ecosystem alteration; and global resources and human needs. Each of these sections features in-depth case studies covering a range of issues for each resource, offering rich opportunities to teach how various scientific disciplines help inform the issue at hand. Case studies provide readers with experience in interpreting real data sets and considering alternate explanations for trends shown by the data. This book helps prepare students for careers that require collaboration with stakeholders and co-workers from various disciplines. - Includes global case studies using real data sets that allow readers to practice interpreting data and evaluating alternative explanations - Focuses on critical skills and knowledge, encouraging readers to apply science and math to real world problems - Employs a system-based approach, linking air, water, and land resources to help readers understand that cause-effect may be complex and solutions to environmental problems require multiple perspectives - Includes special features such as links to video clips of scientists at work, boxed information, a solutions section at the end of each case study, and practice exercises




Integrating Science and Policy


Book Description

As progress towards a greater knowledge in sustainability science continues, the question of how better to integrate scientific progress with actual decisions made by practitioners remains paramount. This book aims to help close the gap between science and practice. Based on a two year collaborative project between Harvard and Clark Universities, the book takes as its focus the vulnerability and resilience of people around the world to the effects of environmental change, a mature area of research in which one might expect the gap between science and policy/practice to have been extensively bridged. The book presents analysis of past studies, interviews conducted with the producers and users of scientific knowledge, and case studies performed by leading scholars across a spectrum of international settings and political systems. Crucially, the authors identify new directions and tools for closing the gap between science and policy across a range of situations and societies. The result is an illuminating collection of studies and analyses that suggest to researchers, students, practitioners, and policy-makers alike how best to ensure that high quality environmental research informs good environmental policy and practice. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The editors and authors are grateful to Lu Ann Pacenka, who formatted the text of the book. The editors also wish to express their appreciation to Bill Clark and Nancy Dickson of Harvard University, who commissioned and provided oversight for the preparation of the volume. Both editors and authors wish to express their appreciation to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for providing funds to support the project. Finally, the editors are grateful for the continuing support of the George Perkins Marsh Institute at Clark University. Published with Science in Society




Case Studies for Integrating Science and the Global Environment


Book Description

"Case Studies for Integrating Science and the Global Environment" is designed to help students of the environment and natural resources make the connections between their training in science and math and today s complex environmental issues. The book provides an opportunity for students to apply important skills, knowledge, and analytical tools to understand, evaluate, and propose solutions to today s critical environmental issues. The heart of the book includes four major content areas: water resources; the atmosphere and air quality; ecosystem alteration; and global resources and human needs. Each of these sections features in-depth case studies covering a range of issues for each resource, offering rich opportunities to teach how various scientific disciplines help inform the issue at hand. Case studies provide readers with experience in interpreting real data sets and considering alternate explanations for trends shown by the data. This book helps prepare students for careers that require collaboration with stakeholders and co-workers from various disciplines. Includes global case studies using real data sets that allow readers to practice interpreting data and evaluating alternative explanationsFocuses on critical skills and knowledge, encouraging readers to apply science and math to real world problemsEmploys a system-based approach, linking air, water, and land resources to help readers understand that cause-effect may be complex and solutions to environmental problems require multiple perspectivesIncludes special features such as links to video clips of scientists at work, boxed information, a solutions section at the end of each case study, and practice exercises"




Assessments of Regional and Global Environmental Risks


Book Description

As environmental challenges grow larger in scale and implications, it is increasingly important to apply the best scientific knowledge in the decisionmaking process. Editors Farrell and Jäger present environmental assessments as the bridge between the expert knowledge of scientists and engineers on the one hand and decisionmakers on the other. When done well, assessments have a positive impact on public policy, the strategic decisions of private firms, and, ultimately, the quality of life for many people. This book is the result of an international, interdisciplinary research project to analyze past environmental assessments and understand how their design influenced their effectiveness in bringing scientific evidence and insight into the decisionmaking process. The case studies in the book feature a wide range of regional and global risks, including ozone depletion, transboundary air pollution, and climate change. Assessments of Regional and Global Environmental Risks offers several important contributions. It provides a clear account of the choices faced in the design of environmental assessments and a clear description of the lessons learned from past assessments. It illustrates why assessments are social processes, not simply reports. And, while they identify no universal, one-size-fits-all design, the authors find that, to be effective, environmental assessments must be viewed by those who produce and use them as being salient; credible in their scientific support; and legitimate, or fair in design and execution.




Actionable Science of Global Environment Change


Book Description

This volume teaches readers how to sort through the vast mountain of climate and environmental science data to extract actionable insights. With the advancements in sensing technology, we now observe petabytes of data related to climate and the environment. While the volume of data is impressive, collecting big data for the sake of data alone proves to be of limited utility. Instead, our quest is for actionable data that can drive tangible actions and meaningful impact. Yet, unearthing actionable insights from the accumulated big data and delivering them to global stakeholders remains a burgeoning field. Although traditional data mining struggles to keep pace with data accumulation, scientific evolution has spurred the emergence of new technologies like numeric modeling and machine learning. These cutting-edge tools are now tackling grand challenges in climate and the environment, from forecasting extreme climate events and enhancing environmental productivity to monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, fostering smart environmental solutions, and understanding aerosols. Additionally, they model environmental-human interactions, inform policy, and steer markets towards a healthier and more environment-friendly direction. While there's no universal solution to address all these formidable tasks, this book takes us on a guided journey through three sections, enriched with chapters from domain scientists. Part I defines actionable science and explores what truly renders data actionable. Part II showcases compelling case studies and practical use scenarios, illustrating these principles in action. Finally, Part III provides an insightful glimpse into the future of actionable science, focusing on the pressing climate and environmental issues we must confront. Embark on this illuminating voyage with us, where big data meets practical research, and discover how our collective efforts move us closer to a sustainable and thriving future. This book is an invitation to unlock the mysteries of our environment, transforming data into decisive action for generations to come.




Routledge Handbook of Global Environmental Politics


Book Description

This handbook brings together leading international academic experts to provide a comprehensive and authoritative survey of global environmental politics. Fully revised, updated and expanded to 45 chapters, the book: • Describes the history of global environmental politics as a discipline and explains the various theories and perspectives used by scholars and students to understand it. • Examines the key actors and institutions in global environmental politics, explaining the roles of states, international organizations, regimes, international law, foreign policy institutions, domestic politics, corporations and transnational actors. • Addresses the ideas and themes shaping the practice and study of global environmental politics, including sustainability, consumption, expertise, uncertainty, security, diplomacy, North-South relations, globalization, justice, ethics, public participation and citizenship. • Assesses the key issues and policies within global environmental politics, including energy, climate change, ozone depletion, air pollution, acid rain, transport, persistent organic pollutants, hazardous wastes, rivers, wetlands, oceans, fisheries, marine mammals, biodiversity, migratory species, natural heritage, forests, desertification, food and agriculture. This second edition includes new chapters on plastics, climate change, energy, earth system governance and the Anthropocene. It is an invaluable resource for students, scholars, researchers and practitioners of environmental politics, environmental studies, environmental science, geography, globalization, international relations and political science.




Integrating Science & Technology into Development Policies An International Perspective


Book Description

This publication provides the proceedings of an international workshop, held in South Africa, intended to address how international co-operation in science and technology can further the three inter-related aspects (economic, social and environmental) of the development process.




Human Security and International Insecurity


Book Description

Human security is about everyday realities of violent conflict and poverty, humanitarian crises, epidemic diseases, injustice and inequality. It is about freedom from fear and freedom from want. It is much different from state-related security with its emphasis on military force, territory and sovereignty. Human security places the security of individuals, communities and global humanity ahead of the security concerns of the state. How does human security relate to international security? Can human security still be advanced in a global climate of intrastate conflict, the war on terror and increasing nuclear tensions? This book challenges prevailing security thinking and explores basic standards of humanity. This multi-authored book deals with the origins and developments of human security as a concept and how it is used in policy practice. It presents new approaches by focusing on alternative discourses, the actors involved, and the new forms of governance that are required. It outlines the challenges human security faces in different parts of the world due to conflict, terrorism and new wars; globalisation and the resurgence of religion; development cooperation, environmental problems and the role of science. Facing the challenges, this book aims to raise human security out of the status of a contemporary ‘problématique’ by bringing it closer to a ‘résolutique’. 'I am convinced that this book provides an original contribution and a further impetus to developing well-grounded academic and policy responses to world-wide problems that so urgently require solutions.' M.S. Swaminathan, President Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs




Dimensions of Sustainable Development - Volume I


Book Description

Dimensions of Sustainable Development is the component of Encyclopedia of Development and Economic Sciences in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Dimensions of Sustainable Development, in two volumes, deals with the diversity of points of view on this complex subject. The chapters in these volumes are organized into five groups. The first starts with chapters introducing the general concepts underlying sustainable development. The second treats current and emerging understandings of the general biophysical limits of economic growth and development. The third focuses on the human and social capital requirements for sustainability. The fourth deals with a particular aspect of the organization of human economic and technological activity. The final group discusses something of the diversity of possible approaches to the management of sustainability. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.




Multidisciplinary Studies of the Environment and Civilization


Book Description

Multidisciplinary Studies on the Environment and Civilization draws on research from a diverse range of fields across the humanities, social and natural sciences to discover what is needed to develop an affluent, sustainable and resilient world for the twenty-first century and beyond. The contributions throughout this volume build and promote frameworks for an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability both in and beyond Japan. Utilizing research efforts from a broad range of fields such as zoology, biological anthropology and archaeology, these multidisciplinary studies are brought together to assess the impacts humans have had on the environment as well as the role of civilization, culture and heritage in environmental history. This book provides a truly multidisciplinary approach to environmental issues and will be of great interest to graduate students and researchers in fields such as climate, geology, plant taxonomy and marine science as well as those with an interest in Japanese history, archaeology, art and literature.