Tracking AI in climate innovation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vilhelm Verendel
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Transportation Energy ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Manufacturing Technologies

Abstract Innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) is spreading rapidly in many areas of technology, and AI technologies may be of help to mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, previous studies of AI in the climate context mainly rely on expert judgement of the research literature, not large-scale data. Here, we present a new approach to analyzing the relation between AI and climate innovation on the economy-wide scale. We analyze over six million patents from the past 45 years from the United States, and find that the greatest amount of climate AI innovation has occured in transportation, energy, and manufacturing technologies. Green ICT and climate adaptation technologies is where AI innovations have higher shares, and breakthrough innovations have made up a larger share in adaptation technologies compared to technologies for climate mitigation. We estimate the difference that AI makes with statistical analysis: AI in mitigation and adaptation technologies is associated with 30-100% more subsequent innovations. Our approach provides new capabilities to track the exponential growth of AI in climate innovation.

Environment and technology dominate the WEF agenda

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
The People ◽  
Impact Risk ◽  
Trade Deals ◽  
First Time

Significance For the first time in the eleven-year history of the survey, no economic risk makes the list of the top five most likely or biggest impact risks. In contrast, large-scale terrorist attacks make the top five most likely risks for the first time and weapons of mass destruction are cited as the highest impact risk. All five environment-related risks are ranked among the top ten highest impact risks for the first time -- four in the top five: extreme weather events; water crises; major natural disasters; and failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation. The survey cites strengthening global cooperation systems as a top five challenge, and says these environmental risks will be exacerbated if cooperation diminishes. Impacts Nearly a third of respondents think that increasing polarisation will be an underlying trend over the next ten years. More must be done to include the people left behind by technological change -- more than 4 billion lack internet access. The United States may withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, and a number of free trade deals are at risk.

China’s discourse power: instruments and strategy

2021 ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Mariia A. Kobzeva
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Political Struggle ◽  
The West ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
International Discourse ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Difference

Today China actively participates in shaping the international political agenda, norms, and rules for interaction between states. This activity is a part of the PRC's policy to strengthen its international discourse power. Despite the fact that there are many studies of China's propaganda politics, discourse power remains outside the focus of researchers both in Russian and English-speaking communities. The term has varying interpretations and translations in non-Chinese academic literature. In this regard, the article examines the meaning of this term and answers questions – how, why, and for what purpose does the PRC implement its discourse power. The article analyzes research literature and documents in Russian, English, and Chinese languages regarding the discourse power, the origin, and the development of the term in Chinese discourse, and using it as a political task. The article studies the main departments and organizations responsible for the formation of the discourse power, as well as tools and mechanisms for its implementation. The author identifies “soft” and “hard” variants of China's discourse power, explains the difference in their goals and methods via giving examples from the PRC's foreign policy. The author concludes that the need for discourse power, which combines various methods of China's policy, is due to the acute internal political struggle, and the country's new ambitions in the international arena. The development of discourse power as a political phenomenon is fueled by the ideas of opposition to the “West”. In this regard, discourse power is becoming one of the most important counterweapons in competition between China and the United States.  

scholarly journals Climate Change Policymaking in the States: A View at 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-472
Author(s):  
Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo ◽  
Mirya R Holman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Climatic Effects ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Party Control ◽  
Rising Sea Levels

Abstract Climate change policymaking has stalled at the federal level in the United States, especially since Donald Trump’s election as president. Concurrently, extreme weather, rising sea levels, and other climatic effects have increased the salience of climate change in the mass public and among elected officials. In response, legislators in state governments increasingly introduce and adopt policies associated with climate change. In this article, we evaluate the state of climate change policymaking in state legislatures, with a focus on overall trends in climate mitigation and adaptation innovation and cases of policy retrenchment. We document an increased level of climate legislation introduced in U.S. states since President Trump’s election, particularly in states under Democratic Party control. We evaluate patterns of introduced legislation across the states between 2011 and 2019 and consider the factors associated with bill sponsorship. Our results demonstrate the increased partisan nature of climate change policymaking in U.S. states.

scholarly journals Penicillin-resistant pneumococcal meningitis: high antibiotic exposure impedes new vaccine protection

2005 ◽  
Vol 133 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. TEMIME ◽  
P. Y. BOËLLE ◽  
A. J. VALLERON ◽  
D. GUILLEMOT
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
The United States ◽  
Antibiotic Exposure ◽  
Vaccine Protection ◽  
Conjugate Vaccines ◽  
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines ◽  
Current Prevalence ◽  
Wide Scale

The frequency of meningitis due to penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRP) has increased in recent years, making treatment failure more likely. It is currently expected that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines might curb this trend. We investigated this issue using a mathematical model applied to the current prevalence of resistance and antibiotic exposure in the United States and in France. Our main finding was that the level of antibiotic exposure may limit the effect of the vaccine. In relatively low antibiotic exposure environments such as the United States, large-scale vaccination prevents a large part of PRP meningitis cases, whereas in high antibiotic-exposure environments such as France, vaccination alone does not lead to a substantial reduction in PRP meningitis incidence. Our results suggest that antibiotic exposure reduction will remain of primary importance for the control of PRP meningitis despite wide scale use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.

scholarly journals Climate Adaptation and Climate Mitigation Do Not Undermine Each Other: A Cross‐Cultural Test in Four Countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Urban ◽  
Davina Vačkářová ◽  
Tomas Badura
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Total N ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change

Adaptation and mitigation are both essential components of strategies that aim to decrease risks associated with climate change. A number of existing studies, however, suggest that the two might be negatively affecting each other – climate adaptation might decrease mitigation efforts and vice versa. We have examined these effects in five experimental studies carried out in four countries (total N = 4,800) and have used Bayesian analysis to evaluate the strength of empirical support for such effects. We did not find any evidence that compensation between climate mitigation and adaptation takes place. On the contrary, we found some evidence, albeit rather weak, that prior focus on adaptation measures increases the subsequent tendency to engage in mitigation behavior; this effect is likely to be driven by an increase in worry about the impacts of climate change that results from a prior focus on climate adaptation. If anything, offering adaptation options may increase the tendency to mitigate climate change.

scholarly journals Monthly Variations in Perfluorinated Compound Concentrations in Groundwater

Toxics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Steele ◽  
Converse Griffith ◽  
Christin Duran
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Sampled Data ◽  
Perfluorinated Compound ◽  
Us Epa ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Air Force Base ◽  
Monthly Variations

Large-scale manufacturing of poly- and perfluorinated compounds in the second half of the 20th century has led to their ubiquity in the environment, and their unique structure has made them persistent contaminants. A recent drinking water advisory level issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency lowered the advisory level concentration of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from 200 nanograms per liter and 400 nanograms per liter, respectively, to 70 nanograms per liter separately or combined. Small temporal variations in PFOS and PFOA concentrations could be the difference between meeting or exceeding the recommended limit. In this study, newly sampled data from a contaminated military site in Alaska and historical data from former Pease Air Force Base were collected. Data were evaluated to determine if monthly variations within PFOS and PFOA existed. No statistically significant temporal trend was observed in the Alaska data, while the results from Pease, although statistically significant, showed the spread of observed contaminant concentrations around the fitted line is broad (as indicated by the low R2 values), indicating that collection date has little value in predicting contaminant concentrations. Though not currently the subject of a US EPA health advisory, data on perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) were collected for each site and their average concentrations evaluated.

Litigating Climate Change in Asia

Climate Law ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 140-149
Author(s):  
Jolene Lin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation

There is increasing climate change litigation in jurisdictions such as the United States, Australia and the European Union. Such litigation seeks to, inter alia, promote mitigation and compel governmental authorities to take effective adaptation measures. Climate litigation, however, is almost unknown in Asia. This article explores the potential for climate litigation in Asia and argues that conditions are ripe in jurisdictions like India and the Philippines for advancing climate mitigation and adaptation via the courtroom.

Effective Engagement and Current Litigation on Climate Governance

2020 ◽  
pp. 199-248
Author(s):  
Janis Sarra
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Proxy Voting ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Shareholder Proposals ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Domestic Economies

Chapter 7 examines various forms of engagement with companies to press them to decarbonize. It discusses direct engagement with corporate boards, shareholder proposals, and proxy voting. It examines divestment as an option to advance climate goals. It also discusses why it is important to engage with policy-makers as they design and implement policies to transition domestic economies, and looks at some creative ways in which climate democracy is being enhanced. The chapter then turns to the extensive, emerging litigation against companies and their directors for their failure to manage climate risks. There are lawsuits both in the United States and globally against companies and institutional investors. The chapter also canvasses recent judgments denying licenses and other economic activities harmful to climate mitigation and adaptation.

scholarly journals Sexual Violence Against Persons With Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802199597
Author(s):  
Amylee Mailhot Amborski ◽  
Eve-Line Bussières ◽  
Marie-Pier Vaillancourt-Morel ◽  
Christian C. Joyal
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
The Difference

A growing number of large-scale studies suggest that people with disabilities are at greater risk of sexual victimization than nondisabled individuals. However, certain results are inconsistent and whether potential moderators explain this variability in previous findings remain to be considered. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the magnitude of the difference in risk of being sexually victimized based on the presence of a disability. An additional objective was to evaluate the relative influence of gender, age, type of disability, type of sexual violence, and relationship with the perpetrator on the association between the presence of a disability and sexual victimization. Studies were searched using pertinent databases and retained if they included a group with a disability, provided data that quantify the occurrence of abuse, indicated the type of sexual violence, and was published between 1970 and 2018 in French or English. A total of 68 studies, allowing 84 independent samples and 12,427 participants, were included. Individuals with disabilities were at significantly higher risk of sexual victimization than persons without disabilities (odds ratio = 2.27). The risk of sexual victimization among individuals with a disability was significantly higher in adult participants compared with the risk in minor participants. Sensory impairment was the type of disability associated with the highest risk of sexual victimization. Odds of sexual victimization among individuals with a disability were significantly higher in African countries compared with all others, and odds in Western Europe were significantly lower than in the United States. No significant differences emerged across eras.

scholarly journals Historical ecology with real numbers: past and present extent and biomass of an imperilled estuarine habitat

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1742) ◽  
pp. 3393-3400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philine S. E. Zu Ermgassen ◽  
Mark D. Spalding ◽  
Brady Blake ◽  
Loren D. Coen ◽  
Brett Dumbauld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Historical Ecology ◽  
The United States ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Significant Loss ◽  
Marine Habitat ◽  
The Face ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Native Oyster

Historic baselines are important in developing our understanding of ecosystems in the face of rapid global change. While a number of studies have sought to determine changes in extent of exploited habitats over historic timescales, few have quantified such changes prior to late twentieth century baselines. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first ever large-scale quantitative assessment of the extent and biomass of marine habitat-forming species over a 100-year time frame. We examined records of wild native oyster abundance in the United States from a historic, yet already exploited, baseline between 1878 and 1935 (predominantly 1885–1915), and a current baseline between 1968 and 2010 (predominantly 2000–2010). We quantified the extent of oyster grounds in 39 estuaries historically and 51 estuaries from recent times. Data from 24 estuaries allowed comparison of historic to present extent and biomass. We found evidence for a 64 per cent decline in the spatial extent of oyster habitat and an 88 per cent decline in oyster biomass over time. The difference between these two numbers illustrates that current areal extent measures may be masking significant loss of habitat through degradation.

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