The Two Degrees Celsius Limit

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Acceptable Level ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Definitive Answer ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

International climate negotiations seek to limit warming to an average of two degrees Celsius (2°C). This objective is justified by the claim that scientists have identified two degrees of warming as the point at which climate change becomes dangerous. Climate scientists themselves maintain that while science can provide projections of possible impacts at different levels of warming, determining what constitutes an acceptable level of risk is not a matter to be decided by science alone, but is a value choice to be deliberated upon by societies as a whole. Hence, while climate science can inform debates about how much warming is too much, it cannot provide a definitive answer to that question. In order to fully understand how climate change came to be defined as a phenomenon with a single global dangerous limit of 2°C, it is necessary to incorporate insights from the social sciences. Political economy, culture, economics, sociology, geography, and social psychology have all played a role in defining what constitutes an acceptable level of climate risk. These perspectives can be applied through the framework of institutional analysis to examine reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other international organizations. This interdisciplinary approach offers the potential to provide a comprehensive history of how climate science has been interpreted in policy making. An interdisciplinary analysis is also essential in order to move beyond historical description to provide a narrative of considerable explanatory power. Such insights offer a valuable framework for considering current debates about whether or not it will be possible to limit warming to 2°C.

The Roman Retail Revolution

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. R. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Roman World ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Food And Drink ◽  
Bodies Of Evidence ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The University

Tabernae were ubiquitous among all Roman cities, lining the busiest streets and dominating their most crowded intersections, and in numbers not known by any other form of building. That they played a vital role in the operation of the city—indeed in the very definition of urbanization—is a point too often under-appreciated in Roman studies, or at best assumed. The Roman Retail Revolution is a thorough investigation into the social and economic worlds of the Roman shop. With a focus on food and drink outlets, and with a critical analysis of both archaeological material and textual sources, Ellis challenges many of the conventional ideas about the place of retailing in the Roman city. A new framework is forwarded, for example, to understand the motivations behind urban investment in tabernae. Their historical development is also unraveled to identify three major waves—or, revolutions—in the shaping of retail landscapes. Two new bodies of evidence underpin the volume. The first is generated from the University of Cincinnati’s recent archaeological excavations into a Pompeian neighborhood of close to twenty shop-fronts. The second comes from a field survey of the retail landscapes of more than a hundred cities from across the Roman world. The richness of this information, combined with an interdisciplinary approach to the lives of the Roman sub-elite, results in a refreshingly original look at the history of retailing and urbanism in the Roman world.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Communicating the Uncertainty of Climate Change to Policymakers: A Study of IPCC Synthesis Reports

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2466
Author(s):  
Tomas Molina ◽  
Ernest Abadal
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
The Public ◽  
Level Of Confidence ◽  
Ipcc Report ◽  
Degree Of Certainty ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tackle Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports on climate change have served to alert both the public and policymakers about the scope of the predicted changes and the effects they would have on natural and economic systems. The first IPCC report was published in 1990, since which time a further four have been produced. The aim of this study was to conduct a content analysis of the IPCC Summaries for Policymakers in order to determine the degree of certainty associated with the statements they contain. For each of the reports we analyzed all statements containing expressions indicating the corresponding level of confidence. The aggregated results show a shift over time towards higher certainty levels, implying a “Call to action” (from 32.8% of statements in IPCC2 to 70.2% in IPCC5). With regard to the international agreements drawn up to tackle climate change, the growing level of confidence expressed in the IPCC Summaries for Policymakers reports might have been a relevant factor in the history of decision making.

scholarly journals Telling the boiling frog what he needs to know: why climate change risks should be plotted as probability over time

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Sharpe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
First Principles ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Climate Change Risks ◽  
Science Community ◽  
Over Time

Abstract. Humanity's situation with respect to climate change is sometimes compared to that of a frog in a slowly boiling pot of water, meaning that change will happen too gradually for us to appreciate the likelihood of catastrophe and act before it is too late. I argue that the scientific community is not yet telling the boiling frog what he needs to know. I use a review of the figures included in two reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to show that much of the climate science communicated to policymakers is presented in the form of projections of what is most likely to occur, as a function of time (equivalent to the following statement: in 5 min time, the water you are sitting in will be 2 ∘C warmer). I argue from first principles that a more appropriate means of assessing and communicating the risks of climate change would be to produce assessments of the likelihood of crossing non-arbitrary thresholds of impact, as a function of time (equivalent to the following statement: the probability of you being boiled to death will be 1 % in 5 min time, rising to 100 % in 20 min time if you do not jump out of the pot). This would be consistent with approaches to risk assessment in fields such as insurance, engineering, and health and safety. Importantly, it would ensure that decision makers are informed of the biggest risks and hence of the strongest reasons to act. I suggest ways in which the science community could contribute to promoting this approach, taking into account its inherent need for cross-disciplinary research and for engagement with decision makers before the research is conducted instead of afterwards.

Intellectual Schisms in Philippine Psychology are Schisms of the Self: Meditations from an East-West Comparative Standpoint

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-318
Author(s):  
Joseph Anthony Narciso Tiangco
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Zen Buddhism ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The Self ◽  
Value System ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
East West

AbstractCritical reflection on the study of psychology situates both students and practitioners in a position to ponder upon not only the conceptual, methodological, and perhaps, theoretical advances within the discipline, but more so, in rediscovering what psychology is in the first place. The first part of this paper provides a discussion on how psychology can be remembered and studied within the backdrop of a condensed history of intellectual progression. Within this context, intellectual schisms can be understood as prompted by the value system held by members of a scientific community. Such a value system, therefore, is also attributable to the emergence of contending perspectives and systems that characterize psychology within a postmodern context. The second part of this paper argues that since psychology is the study of the self, then Eastern re flections have a place in situating Zen Buddhism as it correlates with Western postmodernism. The problem of the self in Eastern philosophy is a source of rich insight in arguing that the emptiness of the self is, in fact, due to its fluidity. Given this, I conclude in this paper that the fluidity of the self accounts for the fluidity of knowledge in psychology and the rest of the social sciences. I pose the challenge that the practice of psychology in the Philippines, as a science and profession, should take on a spiritual depth in consideration of the positive values espoused by postmodernism from an East-West comparative standpoint.

Communicating About Climate Change with Journalists and Media Producers

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Wihbey ◽  
Bud Ward
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rhode Island ◽  
News Media ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Climate Change Communication ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Change Communication ◽  
The University

The relationship between scientific experts and news media producers around issues of climate change has been a complicated and often contentious one, as the slow-moving and complex story has frequently challenged, and clashed with, journalistic norms of newsworthiness, speed, and narrative compression. Even as climate scientists have become more concerned by their evidence-based findings involving projected risks, doubts and confusion over communications addressing those risks have increased. Scientists increasingly have been called upon to speak more clearly and forcefully to the public through news media about evidence and risks—and to do so in the face of rapidly changing news media norms that only complicate those communications. Professional science and environment journalists—whose ranks have been thinned steadily by media industry financial pressures—have meanwhile come under more scrutiny in terms of their understanding; accuracy; and, at times, perceived bias. A number of important organizations have recognized the need to educate and empower a broad range of scientists and journalists to be more effective at communicating about the complexities of climate science and about the societal and economic impacts of a warming climate. For example, organizations such as Climate Communication have been launched to support scientists in their dealings with media, while the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change itself has continued to focus on the communication of climate science. The Earth Journalism Network, Society of Environmental Journalists, Poynter Institute, and the International Center for Journalists have worked to build media capacity globally to cover climate change stories. Efforts at Stanford University, the University of Oxford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and the University of Rhode Island sponsor programming and fellowships that in part help bolster journalism in this area. Through face-to-face workshops and online efforts, The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication has sought to link the media and science communities. Meanwhile, powerful, widely read sites and blogs such as “Dot Earth,” hosted by the New York Times, Climate Central, Real Climate, The Conversation, and Climate Progress have fostered professional dialogue, greater awareness of science, and called attention to reporting and communications issues. Journalists and scientists have had ongoing conversations as part of the regular publication and reporting processes, and professional conferences and events bring the two communities together. Issues that continue to animate these discussions include conveying the degree to which climate science can be said to be “settled” and how to address uncertainty. Through some of these capacity-building efforts, news media have become increasingly aware of audience dynamics including how citizens respond to pessimistic reports, or “doom and gloom,” versus solutions-oriented reports. Professional dialogue has also revolved around the ethical dimensions of conveying a story at the level of global importance. Still, with issues of climate change communication on display for more than two decades now, certain tensions and dynamics persist. Notably, journalists seek clarity from scientists, while climate change experts and advocates for and against taking climate action often continue to demand that journalists resist the temptation to oversimplify or hype the latest empirical findings, while at the same time urging that journalists do not underestimate potential climate risks.

Climate Science and the Phlogiston Theory

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 441-448
Author(s):  
Arthur Rorsch
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Natural Variability ◽  
Phlogiston Theory ◽  
History Of ◽  
Level Of Knowledge

On 2 February 2007 the Intergovernmental Governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) released a “Summary for Policymakers” which is a precis – written by its representatives, not all of whom were scientists – of its longer report, due for release in May. Drafts of the as-yet unpublished main report have been widely circulated and prompted much comment but views which differ from that of the IPCC and the main authors have been largely neglected. In response to the SPM ten scientists presented an alternative report based on the IPCC's draft document and this Independent Summary for Policymakers (ISPM) was released in London on February 5. The ISPM notes the limited level of knowledge of climate sciences and comments on hypotheses neglected by the IPCC SPM, and not surprisingly its conclusions contradict those of the IPCC. The rather alarmist IPCC SPM claims that it is between 90% and 95% probable that the observed climate change since 1950 has mainly been caused by mankind and in particular by the emission of CO2 produced by the burning of fossil fuel. In contrast the ISPM states that the extent to which humans are contributing to climate change is uncertain and will remain uncertain for some time. The ISPM also points out that that the observed climate changes are still within the limits of natural variability and can be explained by natural events, and suggests that some warming might be beneficial. This paper considers this controversy from the perspective of the history of science and shows precendents for questioning science orthodoxy.

scholarly journals Computer-assisted detection and classification of misinformation about climate change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Coan ◽  
Constantine Boussalis ◽  
John Cook ◽  
Mirjam Nanko
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Think Tank ◽  
Detailed History ◽  
The Past ◽  
Computer Assisted Detection ◽  
History Of

A growing body of scholarship investigates the role of misinformation in shaping the debate on climate change. Our research builds on and extends this literature by 1) developing and validating a comprehensive taxonomy of climate misinformation, 2) conducting the largest content analysis to date on contrarian claims, 3) developing a computational model to accurately detect specific claims, and 4) drawing on an extensive corpus from conservative think-tank (CTTs) websites and contrarian blogs to construct a detailed history of misinformation over the past 20 years. Our study finds that climate misinformation produced by CTTs and contrarian blogs has focused on attacking the integrity of climate science and scientists and, increasingly, has challenged climate policy and renewable energy. We further demonstrate the utility of our approach by exploring the influence of corporate and foundation funding on the production and dissemination of specific contrarian claims.

Comparative Matters

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirschl Ran
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Constitutive Laws ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Comparative Aspect ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Constitutional Thought ◽  
Constitutional Adjudication

Comparative study has emerged as the new frontier of constitutional law scholarship as well as an important aspect of constitutional adjudication. Increasingly, jurists, scholars, and constitution drafters worldwide accept that “we are all comparativists now.” And yet, despite this tremendous renaissance, the “comparative” aspect, as a method and a project, remains under-theorized and blurry. Fundamental questions concerning the very meaning and purpose of comparative constitutional inquiry, and how it is to be undertaken, are seldom asked, let alone answered. The author addresses this gap by charting the intellectual history of constitutional thought and the analytical underpinnings of comparative constitutional inquiry, probing the various types, aims, epistemology, and methodologies of engagement with the constitutive laws of others through the ages, and exploring how and why comparative constitutional inquiry has been and ought to be more extensively pursued by academics and jurists worldwide. Through extensive exploration of comparative constitutional endeavors past and present, near and far, the author shows how attitudes toward engagement with the constitutive laws of others reflect tensions between particularism and universalism as well as competing visions of who “we” are as a political community. Drawing on insights from social theory, religion, history, political science, and public law, the author argues for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of comparative constitutionalism that is methodologically and substantively preferable to merely doctrinal accounts. It is contended that the future of comparative constitutional studies lies in relaxing the sharp divide between constitutional law and the social sciences.

scholarly journals Navigating Bulkeley’s challenge on climate politics and human geography

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Jones
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Human Geography ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Progressive Politics ◽  
Climate Politics ◽  
The Social

While agreeing with the major tenets of Harriet Bulkeley’s timely and powerful argument for geographers (and social scientists more generally) to engage with climate change, this response raises three provocative challenges that arise from this intervention: the degree to which the epistemological and theoretical bases to these arguments are radical, the nature of the engagement problem in the discipline and, perhaps most importantly, how these arguments can be translated to a ‘progressive politics’. The response argues that there is much further to go in explaining the utility of socio-natural understanding of climate change if those beyond the social sciences and in the wider realm of policy and politics are to be convinced of the power of the approach being advocated. It also argues that geographers are well-positioned to develop the bolder and more interdisciplinary approach needed to achieve the kind of ambitious shift in thinking Bulkeley seeks.

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