READINGS FOR GLOBAL
CHANGE, FALL 2006
For Monday 11 September:
Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall, 2003. " An Abrupt Climate
Change Scenario and its
implications for United States national security." (This is a report
commissioned by the U. S.
Department of Defense and prepared by a consulting organization called
theGlobal Business
Network . It was submitted to
the Pentagon in 2003, and released to the public several months later.)
For Thursday 14 September:
McKibben, B. 1998. A special moment
in history. Atlantic Monthly. (I
think you can find a copy
with illustrations intact through library website/journals...)
For Monday 18 September
Ehrlich and Ehrlich, One with Nineveh,
Chs. 1-3; (I will have copies on reserve in
Library and in Dickinson Reading
Room file cabinet). NOTE that you can also read this online through
library's 'ebrary'
database. You will need to install a plug-in for your
browser, then do a search for the book
Hardin, G. 1969. The tragedy of the
commons.
For Monday 25 September: Two somewhat technical readings concerning
human carrying capacity
Wackernagel et al. 2002. Tracking the ecological
overshoot of the human economy.
PNAS
Imhoff et al. 2004. Global patterns in human
consumption of net
primary production. Nature
For week of 2-5 October:
Tilman, et al. 2002 Agricultural
sustainability and intensive production practices. Nature. Bring any questions to class on Thursday 5
October: use this paper as the basis
for your next page (DUE MONDAY 9 OCT)
Ehrlich and Ehrlich, One with Nineveh,
Chs. 6-7 (and you're welcome to read chapters in between). The
book is on reserve in library and copies in Dickinson Reading Room --
but remember you can access (and print sections) through
library's 'ebrary'
database as discussed above.
For week of 9 -13 October:
Chapters 1-3, Maslin, Global
Warming: A Very Short Introduction
Also begin reading in Kolbert, Field Notes from a Catastrophe --
First 2 chapters more or less
For 16 - 19 October
For THURSDAY 19 OCTOBER: questions and discussion on James Hansen
2006, Global Temperature Change,
PNAS This is, in part, a summary of some of the latest contributions of
what we're covering on the science side, but it also makes a transition
into some fairly detailed consideration of why the scientific understanding might
imply a policy problem --
somewhat unusual in the 'primary research' literature. (ALSO, you
might do some exploration of Hansen's recent presence in the national
media.)
OTHERWISE,
- be up through Ch. 5 of Maslin, and BRING ANY QUESTIONS to class.
- be up through Ch. 4 of Kolbert, and
likewise.
For 26 October
Be ready to discuss Pacala and Socolow, 2004, Stabilization Wedges:
Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current
Technologies. Science
(NO
CLASS on 23 Oct - Long Weekend)
Be reading on in Kolbert and Maslin
WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT 'TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS';
Things that 'could be done' to alter course of climate change. BRING
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS -- but be ready to consider what any course of
action might 'cost' -- what are the trade-offs.
For 30 October - 2 November
AND, a major report,
just released in Britain, leading to Tony Blair calling for making
greenhouse warming a pre-eminent interenational priority. The
sciences is all review at this point; focus on the economics.
Start with the 'short executive summary' and readmore as you wish.
STERN
REPORT
For 13 - 16 Nov
Read this web-page, and be ready to discuss:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6729
AND begin reading Quammen's The Song
of the Dodo: first 2-3 chapters.
NOTE that this will be quite a shift in style and direction. This is narrative journalism, stylistically. In substance, first few chapters are really about some basic ecological/evolutionary theory -- they address the scientific theories for the origin and regulation of biological diversity. Later chapters will bear more directly on the 'issues' of diversity loss and conservation..
KEEP READING QUAMMEN
For Monday 11 DEC
Be prepared top discuss these TWO VERY SHORT PAPERS