As the time-scales of natural change accelerate and converge with those of society, Routledge Handbook of Climate Change and Society takes the reader into largely uncharted territory in its exploration of anthropogenic climate change. Current material is used to highlight the global impact of this issue, and the necessity for multidisciplinary and global social science research and teaching to address the problem.
The book is multidisciplinary and worldwide in scope, with contributors spanning specialisms including agro-forestry, economics, environmentalism, ethics, human geography, international relations, law, politics, psychology, sociology and theology. Their global knowledge is reflected in the content of the text, which encompasses chapters on American, European and Chinese policies, case studies of responses to disasters and of the new technological and lifestyle alternatives that are being adopted, and the negotiations leading up to the Copenhagen conference alongside a preface assessing its outcomes. Starting with an initial analysis by a leading climatologist, key issues discussed in the text include recent findings of natural scientists, social causation and vulnerability, media and public recognition or scepticism, and the merits and difficulties of actions seeking to mitigate and adapt.
This accessible volume utilizes a wealth of case studies, explains technical terms and minimises the use of acronyms associated with the subject, making it an essential text for advanced undergraduates, postgraduate students and researchers in the social sciences.
Contents
Climate change and society: an introduction, Constance Lever-Tracy and Barrie PittockPart 1: Understanding climate change 1. The science of climate change: knowledge, uncertainty and risk, Barrie Pittock 2. Climate change: complexity and collaboration between the sciences, Ian Welsh Part 2: Social impacts on nature 3. Organisations and global warming, Charles Perrow 4. Capitalism versus nature: eco-socialoaches to the climate crisis, Dennis Soron 5. Ecological economics: the impact of unsustainable growth, Philip Lawn 6. Ecological economics: consumption drivers and impacts, Inge Ropke Part 3: Natural impacts on society 7. Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, Robin Leichenko, Adelle Thomas and Mark Barnes 8. Ecological rationality, disaster, and the environmental education of leaders, Raymond Murphy 9. Case study: floods in Mumbai, Monalisa Chatterjee Part 4: Social recognition of climate change 10. Public opinion: a cross national view, Steven Brechin 11. Media presentations of climate change, Max Boykoff and Joe Smith 12. Case study: climate change reporting in Time magazine, Ray Loi Postscript, Constance Lever-Tracy 13. Religion, worldview and climate change, Lee Levett-Olson 14. Climate change denial: sources, actors and strategies, Riley E. Dunlap and Aaron M. McCright Part 5: Reducing emissions 15. Crises and opportunities, Noel Tracy 16. Alternative scenarios: varieties of capitalis...
