Great adaptations - In the shadow of a climate crisis

Author(s):  
Carolina Ibelli-Bianco
Keyword(s):  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubén D. Manzanedo ◽  
Peter Manning

The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak pandemic is now a global crisis. It has caused 1.6+ million confirmed cases and 100 000+ deaths at the time of writing and triggered unprecedented preventative measures that have put a substantial portion of the global population under confinement, imposed isolation, and established ‘social distancing’ as a new global behavioral norm. The COVID-19 crisis has affected all aspects of everyday life and work, while also threatening the health of the global economy. This crisis offers also an unprecedented view of what the global climate crisis may look like. In fact, some of the parallels between the COVID-19 crisis and what we expect from the looming global climate emergency are remarkable. Reflecting upon the most challenging aspects of today’s crisis and how they compare with those expected from the climate change emergency may help us better prepare for the future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (804) ◽  
pp. 39-39
Author(s):  
Joshua Lustig

A prominent philosopher of science calls for a radical political realignment to confront the existential threat posed by the climate crisis.


Author(s):  
Frank Fischer

This final chapter explores ideas previously taken up and relates them to political theory, democratic deliberative politics in particular. Up to this point, these ideas have been presented as theoretical contributions to both participatory governance and the relocalization movement. The discussion here seeks to extend the theoretical perspective more specifically to a number of important but relatively neglected traditions in democratic political theory, especially as they relate to ideas taken from the writings of Bookchin and Sale. This involves the theories of associative democracy, insurgent democratic politics, and participatory or democratic expertise. These theoretical orientations are provided as steps in search of a broader environmental political theory that can address the democratic struggles that are anticipated during the socio-ecological climate crisis ahead.


Author(s):  
Peter Läderach ◽  
Grazia Pacillo ◽  
Philip Thornton ◽  
Diego Osorio ◽  
Dan Smith

2021 ◽  
Vol 167 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel Geiger ◽  
Anagha Gore ◽  
Claire V. Squire ◽  
Shahzeen Z. Attari

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 205395172098203
Author(s):  
Maria I Espinoza ◽  
Melissa Aronczyk

Under the banner of “data for good,” companies in the technology, finance, and retail sectors supply their proprietary datasets to development agencies, NGOs, and intergovernmental organizations to help solve an array of social problems. We focus on the activities and implications of the Data for Climate Action campaign, a set of public–private collaborations that wield user data to design innovative responses to the global climate crisis. Drawing on in-depth interviews, first-hand observations at “data for good” events, intergovernmental and international organizational reports, and media publicity, we evaluate the logic driving Data for Climate Action initiatives, examining the implications of applying commercial datasets and expertise to environmental problems. Despite the increasing adoption of Data for Climate Action paradigms in government and public sector efforts to address climate change, we argue Data for Climate Action is better seen as a strategy to legitimate extractive, profit-oriented data practices by companies than a means to achieve global goals for environmental sustainability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2477
Author(s):  
Kleopatra-Eleni Nikolaou ◽  
Theocharis Chatzistathis ◽  
Serafeim Theocharis ◽  
Anagnostis Argiriou ◽  
Stefanos Koundouras ◽  
...  

Under the current and future climate crisis, a significant rise in soil salinity will likely affect vine productivity in several Mediterranean regions. During the present research, the rootstock effects on salinity tolerance of Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapevine cultivars were studied. In a pot hydroponic culture, own-rooted Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapevine cultivars or grafted onto the rootstocks 1103 P and 101-14 Mgt were drip-irrigated with saline water. A completely randomized 3 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment was designed with two vine rootstocks or own-rooted vines, two scion cultivars, and 100 mM NaCl salinity or control treatments, with six replications. A significant effect of scion cultivar, rootstock, and salinity was observed for most of the measured parameters. At the end of salinity stress period, leaf, shoot, root, and trunk nutrient concentrations were measured. Salinity stress increased Chloride (Cl−) and Sodium (Na+) concentrations in all parts of the vines and decreased leaf concentrations of Potassium (K+), Calcium (Ca+2), Magnesium (Mg+2), Nitrogen (N), and Iron (Fe). In contrast, salinity stress increased leaf Boron (B) concentrations, whereas that of Manganese (Mn) remained unaffected. Leaf chlorophyll concentration decreased from 42% to 40% after thirty and sixty days of salt treatment, respectively. A similar trend was observed for the CCM-200 relative chlorophyll content. Salinity significantly decreased steam water potential (Ws), net CO2 assimilation rate (A), and stomatal conductance(gs) in all cases of grafted or own-rooted vines. Sixty days after the beginning of salt treatment, total Phenolics and PSII maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) decreased significantly. The rootstock 1103 P seems to be a better excluder for Na+ and Cl− and more tolerant to salinity compared to 101-14 Mgt rootstock.


Affilia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 088610992098724
Author(s):  
Finn McLafferty Bell ◽  
Mary Kate Dennis ◽  
Glory Brar

Environmental crises caused by our changing global environment evoke intense and difficult emotions, particularly the paralysis that often results from despair. Understanding how people who are deeply engaged in environmental activism deal with their emotions can help in emotionally equipping people to address the climate crisis. Ecofeminist spirituality directly addresses these issues through an environmental stewardship that offers hope and healing for the world. This study includes 14 interviews with workers at an ecojustice center founded by an order of Catholic sisters in the United States. We used thematic analysis to identify three main themes that collectively describe the participants’ perspectives on (a) experiences of difficult feelings, (b) strategies for coping with those feelings, and (c) perspectives on cultivating hope. Participants shared how they were able to cope with difficult emotions and cultivate hope that the work they are doing matters, which was essential to sustaining their ecojustice work. As social workers respond to the changing environment, understanding how to sustain environmental work at the macro-level is essential to addressing largescale problems while also attending to difficult emotions at the microlevel. Further implications for social work practice include the importance of intergenerational organizing, living in “right relationship,” incorporating spirituality, and reinhabiting the profession.


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