Climate Change P. Brian Fisher College of Charleston POLS 405 Class 4: History of Climate Science Science as a Contact

1. Climate ChangeP. Brian FisherCollege of CharlestonPOLS 405Class 4: History of Climate ScienceScience as a Contact Sport

2. Same Terms as today? 1975: “a few dozen scientists appeared in front of world’s legislatures, incl US Congress, warming of poential climate changes caused by humans…solutions like halting deforestation, protecting ecosystems, using solar power, requiring better building insulation, and developing fuel efficient cars were widely proposed.” SCS, p. 1

3. Global Flow of CO2 (2008)

4. Schneider on Current State of GCC “I believe in a hopeful environmental future for the world if we proactively address the challenges of climate change and their strong connection to the sustainable development of the not yet well-developed countries. We can overcome the political inertia that has delayed our response here in the US as well as in many other countries. Consumption and population [growth] are the main drivers of environmental stresses, and both need to be managed for sustainability.” –p5

5. Schneider & Rasool: Global Cooling • Paper on effects of aerosols vs. CO2: what would win out  cooling or warming? Published in 1971, Science. • S & R argued, based on Schneider’s models, that the earth would cool from the aerosols overwhelming the effects from GHG pollution. Their paper ended that “this 5°C cooling could trigger an ice age!” • Their model failed to included the stratosphere a key to half of the atmosphere’s CO2, and obviously were wrong. • Implications?

6. 3 Waves of Environmentalism (in US) • 1. Conservation Wave: Began with conservation/preservation of ‘wilderness’ in early 1900s—setting up national parks, etc. (Muir, Leopold, Pinchot) • Wilderness: “biotic associations be maintained, or where necessary recreated, as nearly as possible in the condition that prevailed when the area was first visited by the white man.” • 2. Human Health Wave: Earth Day (1970) • Primarily Concerned with human health from environment--Rachel Carson (DDT) (beginning in late ‘60s); Air/Water pollution; population growth • Marked by fed legis & laws passed on enviro protection: Superfund, CWA, CAA, NEPA, Wilderness Act • In 1970, 53% of Americans viewed “reduction of air/water pollution as a nat’l priority” • Shift away from elitist, natural roots of environmentalism: NGOs. • 3. “Beltway Environmentalism” (late 80s) • Responding to antagonistic Reagan Admin, which attempted to roll back all legis/laws from the 2nd wave • Enviro NGOs focused on priorities of Wave 1 to accomplish this, rather than controversial industry practices (e.g. animal preservation) • Conclusion: This created a “disastrously incomplete picture of environmentalism” b/c it left out human communities, cities, post-industrial landscapes, and challenges of sustainability. • EJ in the 90s sought to correct this problem

7. 4th Wave of Environmentalism?? • Defined more by the problems than by the attempt to change/solutions • Concern over megatrends: Climate change, biodiversity loss, urbanization, modes of energy, globalization of environmental problems • Interconnection of Environmental change to larger scale problems: poverty, social problems, education, disease, inequality (gender, class), conflict, migration/displacement, etc. • Interconnection of paradigmatic approaches to problems: human rights, development, security, • Debate centers over solutions and scale • Sustainability, climate adaptation, econ development, renewable energy portfolios, security • Scale: global solutions vs regional or even local

8. Historical Continuum of Global Environmental Governance • 1972, Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (differences b/w GS and GN) • 1982, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (1994)—strongest environ agreement • 1992, Earth Summit, UN Conference on Environment and Development World (based on Brundtland Commission or WCED, 1983), Rio • Created sustainable development paradigm • 2002, Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Jo’burgThrust was implementation of Rio

9. Clashing Backdrop to 1972 Stockholm Convention Indira Gandhi at Stockholm: “Are not poverty and need the greatest polluters?...How can we speak to those who live in villages and slums about keeping oceans, rivers and air clean when their own lives are contaminated at the source? The environment cannot be improved in conditions of poverty.” Developed: Surge of environmental concern, primarily within nation Developing (G77): concern over preserving their sovereignty and control over their resources  poverty, lower life expectancies, illiteracy, sanitation, etc