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The Carbon Control Knob
by Eban Goodstein Richard AlleyOn November 2, 2011, Richard Alley participated in The National Climate Seminar, a series of webinars sponsored by Bard College's Center for Environmental Policy. The online seminars provide a forum for leading scientists, writers, and other experts to talk about critical issues regarding climate change. The series also opens a public conversation, inviting participants to ask questions and contribute their own thoughts. Dr. Alley conducts research on the paleoclimatic record at The Pennsylvania State University in order to understand the history, and perhaps the future, of climate change. In his lecture, Alley gave a concise overview of why we know what we know about climate change, and what that evidence can tell us about today's warming planet. Alley not only provides an accessible science lesson, but reveals his own greatest concerns about climate change and offers advice to those who want to stop debating the subtleties of climate science and act now. This E-ssential is an edited version of Alley's talk and the subsequent question and answer session. While some material has been cut and some language modified for clarity, the intention was to retain the substance of the original discussion.
The Carbon Crunch: How We're Getting Climate Change Wrong—and How to Fix It
by Dieter HelmAn economist&’s take on &“why the world&’s efforts to curb the carbon dioxide emissions behind global warming have gone so wrong, and how it can do better&” (Financial Times). Despite commitments to renewable energy and two decades of international negotiations, global emissions continue to rise. Coal, the most damaging of all fossil fuels, has actually risen from 25% to almost 30% of world energy use. And while European countries congratulate themselves on reducing emissions, they&’ve increased their carbon imports from China and other developing nations, who continue to expand their coal use. As standards of living improve in developing countries, coal use can only increase as well—and global temperatures along with it. Written by an Oxford economist who specializes in environmental issues, this book goes beyond pieties and pipe dreams to address the practical realities that are preventing us from making progress on this crucial issue—and what we can do differently before it&’s too late. &“Should be compulsory reading for the entire political class as well as the bureaucratic elite and the commentariat.&”—New Statesman &“An optimistically levelheaded book about actually dealing with global warming.&”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) &“A powerful and heartfelt plea for hard-nosed realism.&”—New Scientist
The Carbon Dioxide Dilemma: Promising Technologies and Policies
by National Academy of Engineering StaffGrowing concerns about climate change partly as a result of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions has prompted the research community to assess technologies and policies for sequestration. This report contains presentations of a symposium held in April of 2002. The sequestration options range form ocean disposal, terrestrial disposal in geologic formations, biomass based approaches and carbon trading schemes. The report also presents current efforts at enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide and demonstrating its utility. The volume is intended only as introduction to the subject and not the final word.
The Carbon Emission Liability Mechanism: A New Solution for Global Carbon Neutrality
by Baoming YangThis open access book presents a novel Carbon Emission Liability Mechanism (CELM) and an integrated global Carbon Pricing Mechanism, based on a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of economic theory related to global climate change and the practice of carbon pricing instruments over the past 30 years. It further outlines a top-level design and implementation blueprint global based on CELM to achieve global carbon neutrality.For the first time, the CELM mechanism effectively addresses the three fundamental questions regarding carbon emissions: who should be liable for carbon emission, how much liability, and how to offset it. The introduction of CELM may unveil a feasible third path towards global carbon neutrality, and effectively address numerous challenges of carbon tax and Emission Trading System.CELM facilitates the creation of an efficient, cost-effective and comprehensive societal carbon footprint database, and addresses issues related to international carbon border regulation mechanism. While the world is struggling to tackcle the imminent climate crisis, CELM offers a refreshing global carbon neutrality solution, with its characteristics of more fair, more efficient, and less expensive, bringing new alternative options for the international community.
The Carbon Farming Solution: A Global Toolkit of Perennial Crops and Regenerative Agriculture Practices for Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security
by Eric ToensmeierWith carbon farming, agriculture ceases to be part of the climate problem and becomes a critical part of the solution&“This book is the toolkit for making the soil itself a sponge for carbon. It&’s a powerful vision.&”—Bill McKibben&“The Carbon Farming Solution is a book we will look back upon decades from now and wonder why something so critically relevant could have been so overlooked until that time. . . . [It] describes the foundation of the future of civilization.&”—Paul HawkenIn this groundbreaking book, Eric Toensmeier argues that agriculture—specifically, the subset of practices known as &“carbon farming&”—can, and should be, a linchpin of a global climate solutions platform. Carbon farming is a suite of agricultural practices and crops that sequester carbon in the soil and in above-ground biomass. Combined with a massive reduction in fossil fuel emissions—and in concert with adaptation strategies to our changing environment— carbon farming has the potential to bring us back from the brink of disaster and return our atmosphere to the &“magic number&” of 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide. Toensmeier&’s book is the first to bring together these powerful strategies in one place.Includes in-depth analysis of the available research.Carbon farming can take many forms. The simplest practices involve modifications to annual crop production. Although many of these modifications have relatively low sequestration potential, they are widely applicable and easily adopted, and thus have excellent potential to mitigate climate change if practiced on a global scale. Likewise, grazing systems such as silvopasture are easily replicable, don&’t require significant changes to human diet, and—given the amount of agricultural land worldwide that is devoted to pasture—can be important strategies in the carbon farming arsenal. But by far, agroforestry practices and perennial crops present the best opportunities for sequestration. While many of these systems are challenging to establish and manage, and would require us to change our diets to new and largely unfamiliar perennial crops, they also offer huge potential that has been almost entirely ignored by climate crusaders. Many of these carbon farming practices are already implemented globally on a scale of millions of hectares. These are not minor or marginal efforts, but win-win solutions that provide food, fodder, and feedstocks while fostering community self-reliance, creating jobs, protecting biodiversity, and repairing degraded land—all while sequestering carbon, reducing emissions, and ultimately contributing to a climate that will remain amenable to human civilization. Just as importantly to a livable future, these crops and practices can contribute to broader social goals such as women&’s empowerment, food sovereignty, and climate justice. The Carbon Farming Solution is—at its root—a toolkit and the most complete collection of climate-friendly crops and practices currently available.With this toolkit, farmers, communities, and governments large and small, can successfully launch carbon farming projects with the most appropriate crops and practices to their climate, locale, and socioeconomic needs. Toensmeier&’s ultimate goal is to place carbon farming firmly in the center of the climate solutions platform, alongside clean solar and wind energy. With The Carbon Farming Solution, Toensmeier wants to change the discussion, impact policy decisions, and steer mitigation funds to the research, projects, and people around the world who envision a future where agriculture becomes the protagonist in this fraught, urgent, and unprecedented drama of our time. Citizens, farmers, and funders will be inspired to use the tools presented in this important book to transform degraded lands around the world into
The Carbon Footprint Handbook
by Subramanian Senthilkannan MuthuThorough and detailed, The Carbon Footprint Handbook encompasses all areas of carbon footprint, including the scientific elements, methodological and technological aspects, standards, industrial case studies, and communication of carbon footprint results. Written and edited by an international group of experts, the far-ranging topics on carbon foot
The Caribbean Coral Reef: A Record of an Ecosystem Under Threat
by William K. SaccoThis book is a visual tour of Caribbean coral reefs between 1968 and 1978. They are the world’s second largest coral reef community and the most threatened. The Caribbean Coral Reef: A Record of an Ecosystem Under Threat offers a priceless historical record made by a photographer who set out to document the major reef species when those reefs were at their prime. Today, coral reefs are under threat as never before and, sadly, most of what is shown in the book's photographs is now gone forever. It is only by comparing the images in this book with what we see now that we are able to fully recognize what we have lost. With its stunning photography and precise, accurate scientific information, this book offers students of coral reefs a wealth of information about this rich, fragile ecosystem. It is also written accessibly for non-academic visitors to the Caribbean reef or anyone interested in the earth’s creatures. Many of the invertebrates will be unfamiliar to most people, and the author reveals fascinating insights into these otherworldly creatures and their lifestyles. Enjoy this field guide to the reefs that were, and savor the beauty of this vanishing environment and its organisms.
The Carnivore Way: Coexisting with and Conserving North America's Predators
by Cristina EisenbergWhat would it be like to live in a world with no predators roaming our landscapes? Would their elimination, which humans have sought with ever greater urgency in recent times, bring about a pastoral, peaceful human civilization? Or in fact is their existence critical to our own, and do we need to be doing more to assure their health and the health of the landscapes they need to thrive? In The Carnivore Way, Cristina Eisenberg argues compellingly for the necessity of top predators in large, undisturbed landscapes, and how a continental-long corridor--carnivore way--provides the room they need to roam and connected landscapes that allow them to disperse. Eisenberg follows the footsteps of six large carnivores--wolves, grizzly bears, lynx, jaguars, wolverines, and cougars--on a 7,500-mile wildlife corridor from Alaska to Mexico along the Rocky Mountains. Backed by robust science, she shows how their well-being is a critical factor in sustaining healthy landscapes and how it is possible for humans and large carnivores to coexist peacefully and even to thrive. University students in natural resource science programs, resource managers, conservation organizations, and anyone curious about carnivore ecology and management in a changing world will find a thoughtful guide to large carnivore conservation that dispels long-held myths about their ecology and contributions to healthy, resilient landscapes.
The Carpathians: Integrating Nature and Society Towards Sustainability
by Bartłomiej Wyżga Andrzej Bytnerowicz Jacek Kozak Katarzyna OstapowiczThe book includes a broad spectrum of perspectives from different scientific disciplines (both the natural and social sciences) as well as practical knowledge. It gives a new insight into the Carpathian mountain region
The Carrot Purple and other Curious Stories of the Food We Eat (Rowman & Littlefield Studies in Food and Gastronomy)
by Joel S. DenkerHow many otherwise well-educated readers know that the familiar orange carrot was once a novelty? It is a little more than 400 years old. Domesticated in Afghanistan in 900 AD, the purple carrot, in fact, was the dominant variety until Dutch gardeners bred the young upstart in the seventeenth century. After surveying paintings from this era in the Louvre and other museums, Dutch agronomist Otto Banga discovered this stunning transformation. <p><p>The story of the carrot is just one of the hidden tales this book recounts. Through portraits of a wide range of foods we eat and love, from artichokes to strawberries, The Carrot Purple traces the path of foods from obscurity to familiarity. Joel Denker explores how these edible plants were, in diverse settings, invested with new meaning. They acquired not only culinary significance but also ceremonial, medicinal, and economic importance. Foods were variously savored, revered, and reviled. <p><p>This entertaining history will enhance the reader’s appreciation of a wide array of foods we take for granted. From the carrot to the cabbage, from cinnamon to coffee, from the peanut to the pistachio, the plants, beans, nuts, and spices we eat have little-known stories that are unearthed and served here with relish.
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: Reconciling Trade in Biotechnology with Environment and Development
by Robert Falkner Christoph Bail Helen MarquardModern biotechnology - the controversial manipulation of genes in living organisms - has far-reaching implications for agriculture, human health, trade and the environment. Against the odds, an international treaty governing biosafety and trade in biotechnology was adopted in 2000. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety of the Convention on Biological Diversity deals with one of the most important and challenging issues thrown up by developments in biotechnology. This volume is a comprehensive review of the protocol and the process that led to its adoption. It includes contributions from many of the key players involved and analyses the commercial and political interests at stake, the operations and implications of the protocol, and prospects for the future.
The Cartographic State
by Jordan BranchWhy is today's world map filled with uniform states separated by linear boundaries? The answer to this question is central to our understanding of international politics, but the question is at the same time much more complex – and more revealing – than we might first think. This book examines the important but overlooked role played by cartography itself in the development of modern states. Drawing upon evidence from the history of cartography, peace treaties and political practices, the book reveals that early modern mapping dramatically altered key ideas and practices among both rulers and subjects, leading to the implementation of linear boundaries between states and centralized territorial rule within them. In his analysis of early modern innovations in the creation, distribution and use of maps, Branch explains how the relationship between mapping and the development of modern territories shapes our understanding of international politics today.
The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia
by Andrey G. Kostianoy Aleksey N Kosarev Michael Glantz Igor S. ZonnThe Caspian Sea is a unique natural feature, the world's largest landlocked water body. Historically the Caspian was one of the key zones where the interests of great powers such as Russia, Britain and Persia clashed. And the reason was and still is the oil - the "black gold" of the Caspian and also the natural riches of the sea, its other gold - the sturgeons with their black caviar. With this encyclopedia attempt to relate the Caspian story via an objective approach to the past and present of the sea where even today many geopolitical, economic, social and environmental issues are focused. These issues are vital not only to the Caspian countries, but other countries of the world as well. The encyclopedia contains about 1500 articles and terms providing descriptions of geographical features, cities, ports, transport routes, main oil and gas fields, aqueous biological resources, international treaties, national and international programs, research institutions, historical and archeological monuments, activities of prominent scientists, researchers, travelers, military commanders, oil industrialists and traders who had relation to the Caspian Sea. In addition this book gives the chronology of the most important events that became milestones in the history of the Caspian region development for more than 300 years, spanning a period from the times of Peter the Great till the present.
The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia (Encyclopedia of Seas)
by Andrey G. Kostianoy Aleksey N Kosarev Michael Glantz Igor S. Zonn“The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia” is the second one in the new series of encyclo- dias about the seas of the former Soviet Union published by Springer-Verlag. The ?rst volume – “The Aral Sea Encyclopedia” was published by Springer in 2009. The series will be continued by “The Black Sea Encyclopedia” in 2010. Today the Caspian Sea is known to readers thanks to its oil and gas resources, sturgeon and caviar, signi?cant sea-level variations, socio-economic and political problems. The Caucasus and Central Asia (http://eurodialogue. org/?les/fckeditor_?les/Caspian-s- map2. png) vii viii Introduction For more than 250 years the Caspian Sea was shared by two states: Russia (the Soviet Union) and Persia (Iran). After the disintegration of the USSR in 1992, the new independent states of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have radically changed the political and economic situation in the region. In addition to Russia and Iran, who had determined the situation on the Caspian for a long period, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are now interested parties, beginning a new stage in the historical development of the Caspian region. This increase in the number of the Caspian legal entities from two to ?ve has given rise to a whole tangle of geopolitical, economic, international legal, ethnic and environmental problems, each of which demands its own approach and settlement mechanism.
The Causes and Progression of Desertification (Routledge Studies in Environmental Policy and Practice)
by Helmut GeistThis book provides an examination into the causes and prospects of desertification through a systematic review of 132 sub national case studies. It uses a meta-analytical model to determine whether proximate causes and underlying driving forces fall into any patterns, to identify mediating factors, feedbacks, cross-scalar dynamics and typical pathways. It shows a limited set of recurrent core variables in varying combinations to drive desertification. Most prominent root causes are climatic factors, institutions, national policies, population growth and remote economic influences that lead to local cropland expansion, overgrazing and infrastructure extension, associated with desertification as a potential but not necessary outcome. Some factors are geographically robust; most of them are region and time specific.
The Causes of Tropical Deforestation: The Economic and Statistical Analysis of Factors Giving Rise to the Loss of the Tropical Forests (Routledge Revivals)
by Katrina Brown David W. PearceThe Causes of Tropical Deforestation (1994) is an analysis of the problem of deforestation, using statistical technique – a form of ‘environ-metrics’ – to discover the true causes of an issue whose basis is hotly debated, and attributed to causes as varied as poverty, external debt, multinational logging companies, government corruption, the IMF, population growth, and non-sustainable agriculture.
The Caves Beyond: The Story of the Floyd Collins' Crystal Cave Exploration
by Roger W. Brucker Joe Lawrence Jr.THE CAVES BEYOND by Joe Lawrence, Jr. and Roger W. Brucker The Caves Beyond is the classic American caving adventure story. There is no other caving book like it. First published in 1955 in an edition of 10,000 copies, the book was out of print soon afterwards. It is now known among caving enthusiasts as the most stolen book there ever was. You will see it listed in most library catalogs, but will be lucky to find a copy on a library shelf. In February, 1954, under the direction of Joe Lawrence, the National Speleological Society sent the largest, most highly organized, and best-equipped expedition in the history of American cave exploration into Floyd Collins' Crystal Cave, Kentucky. The Caves Beyond is the official NSS account of that expedition. In the short view, the C-3 (Collins' Crystal Cave) expedition was not much of a success, but in the long view it was a major turning point in American speleology. Three cavers- Phil Smith, Roger Brucker, and Roger McClure, emerged from the C-3 expedition to organize the Central Ohio Grotto Flint Ridge Reconnaissance, and then the Cave Research Foundation, to carry on the exploration. Guided by Jim Dyer, Dr. Pohl, and Bill Austin, they molded the most concentrated speleological effort ever undertaken by a large group. Planning for the C-3 expedition had begun in 1952; 20 years later, with no letup in intensity, the big connection between the Flint Ridge Cave System and Mammoth Cave was made. The story told in The Caves Beyond culminated in the integration of the longest cave in the world-the Flint Mammoth Cave System. Roger Brucker's new introduction to the long-awaited reprint edition reveal a number of old secrets, including stories of the politics behind the C-3 expedition and of how the book came to be written in an attic in Brooklyn in two weeks' time. There is also a detailed index, which the first edition lacked.
The Caves of Burnsville Cove, Virginia
by William B. WhiteThis book highlights some of the most difficult and persistent exploration ever undertaken in the United States - in Burnsville Cove, a small limestone valley in west-central Virginia - while at the same time reviewing the scientific discoveries made in the area's 116 km of caves in the course of 50 years. Overall, the book offers a unique combination of exploration and science by a conservation organization specifically dedicated to the preservation and study of the caves.
The Centre of City: Thermal Environment and Spatial Morphology
by Junyan Yang Xing ShiA major objective of this monograph is to identify the impact of thermal environment on urban center district. It provides in-depth evaluation and research on the correlation between urban spatial morphology indicator and urban thermal environment. In addition, the distribution characteristics of thermal environment and urban morphology units sample are also evaluated intensively. Furthermore, it analyses from three aspects of urban planning, architecture and landscape respectively and includes 35 concrete measures that could be brought into practice on reducing negative impact of urban thermal environment. Through 500 vivid figures, graphs and diagrams it illustrates the relationship between urban morphology and urban thermal environment. The analysis software employed by the author includes Ecotect, ENVI-met and Ray-man. It intertwines the quantitative research of both thermal environment and urban morphology through in-depth analysis and urban microclimate simulation. It makes a valuable contribution for the research on urban environment and urban morphology.
The Chagos Archipelago: A Biological Biography
by Charles SheppardThis book is the story of the natural history of Chagos Archipelago, and of the efforts of many to get it recognized as an important and protected wildlife reserve. Exploring its immense natural riches and biodiversity, both on islands and in the marine environment, this book addresses competing claims to its resources, its politics, and the desire of some commercial and political parties to exploit the area. It is about the fight to conserve a wonderland of biodiversity and obtain its protection from exploitation, especially of its reefs and other marine life. This book shows the importance of the Chagos Archipelago and why so much research was done there. Rather than being a typical research book, this work presents research in a narrative form and describes the now substantial Government, UN, and legal interest in the archipelago since the UK was told to ‘decolonise’ it. It is also the story of our planet in miniature: the archipelago encapsulates much of the world’s conservation tribulations in a way we can much more easily understand. This narrative will explore the difficulties faced by the Chagos Archipelago, including displaced people, old and derelict industries (coconut in this case), the military, politics, rich and untouched ecosystems that some want to exploit, ruined habitats on land, climate change, and territorial claims. It will examine how all of these factors have affected the natural history, biodiversity, and conservation of the archipelago. With beautiful photography of the Chagos Archipelago coral reefs and islands, as well as graphs indicating their findings, this book offers professionals, researchers, academics, and students in conservation and biodiversity an insight into one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems. It is also accessible for non‑academic readers with an interest in climate change, biodiversity, and the importance of conservation.
The Challenge for Energy Justice: Correcting Human Rights Abuses
by Raphael J HeffronWritten by one of the world’s leading scholars in the field, this book provides a unique perspective on the connections between energy justice and human rights. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the author offers an accessible discussion about the implementation of energy justice in practice. The book explores the rise of justice issues in the energy sector, the interdisciplinary nature of energy justice, the economics of energy justice and provides a practical case study on distributive justice. The penultimate chapter focuses on human rights and energy justice in a world first, and explores the topic from the perspective of the opportunity of last resort. This ‘opportunity of last resort’ is the national courts and is the place where societies can seek to have justice enforced through a variety of human rights being protected. Finally, energy justice risks are highlighted alongside the author’s proposed framework for the next generation of energy justice scholars.
The Challenge of Climate Change: Which Way Now?
by Daniel P. Perlmutter Robert L. RothsteinGlobal warming and climate change present complex interlocking issues of public policy, multilateral negotiation, and technological advancement. This book explores both the problems and the opportunities presented by international agreements, and examines the technological developments and policy goals that can be pursued to effect the changes necessary. Specific steps are proposed in the form of a list of priorities. This book represents a cooperative enterprise between two authors of different backgrounds - engineering and international relations - and is directed to an educated but non-professional lay audience without any formal training in either science or international relations. The points of view of negotiators from both developed and developing nations are presented and compared. Each topic is presented from both technical and policy perspectives as a means to evaluate the variety of proposals that have been offered as remedies to global warming. The text is supported by illustrations and tables where appropriate, including a list of References at the end of each chapter.
The Challenge of Environmental Management in Urban Areas (Routledge Revivals)
by Adrian Atkinson Julio D. Dávila Michael MattinglyFirst published in 1999, this volume features contributors specialising in urban planning and examines the challenges of environmental planning in urban areas, focusing on policy, management, organisation and policy. A collection of ground-breaking and thought-provoking papers, they are written by some of the most distinguished, internationally known names in the field of urban sustainability. The authors go beyond debates about approach and policy options to look at what is taking place. The experience of urban environmental management is presented from several countries in Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia. They examine over twenty case studies in contributing to existing knowledge of environmental management practice in urban areas, emphasising the issue in both Northern and Southern countries in relation to growing awareness in the North and rapid city growth in the South. While containing critical analyses, the emphasis is placed on achievements and promising developments of vital importance to local administrators, policy-makers, town planners, academics, environmentalists and students alike.
The Challenge of Rural Electrification: Strategies for Developing Countries
by Douglas F. BarnesDouglas Barnes and his team of development experts provide an essential guide that can help improve the quality of life to the estimated 1.6 billion rural people in the world who are without electricity. The difficulties in bringing electricity to rural areas are formidable: Low population densities result in high capital and operating costs. Consumers are often poor, and their electricity consumption is low. Politicians interfere with the planning and operations of programs, insisting on favored constituents. Yet, as Barnes and his contributors demonstrate, many countries have overcome these obstacles. The Challenge of Rural Electrification provides lessons from successful programs in Bangladesh, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand, and Tunisia, as well as Ireland and the United States. These insights are presented in a format that should be accessible to a broad range of policymakers, development professionals, and community advocates. Barnes and his contributors do not provide a single formula for bringing electricity to rural areas. They do not recommend a specific set of institutional arrangements for the participation of public sector companies, cooperatives, and private firms. They argue instead that successful programs follow a flexible, but still well-defined set of principles: a financially viable plan that clearly accounts for any subsidies; a cooperative relationship between electricity providers and local communities; and an operational separation from day-to-day government and politics.
The Challenges of Democracy in the War on Terror: The Liberal State before the Advance of Terrorism (Routledge Research in Place, Space and Politics)
by Maximiliano E. KorstanjeThis book unravels the role of democracy after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and reflects important debates surrounding the security of Muslim communities in the years to come. It looks at the problems of torture, violence and the legal resources available to contemporary democracies to confront terrorism. While terrorism is often regarded as one of the major threats to the West and the nation-state, this book explores the notion that a disciplined sense of terror is what keeps society working. The strengths and limitations of liberalism are examined, as well as the ethical dilemma of torture and human right violations in the struggle against terrorism. This book carefully dissects the origin of the nation-state and how it keeps society united. The author offers a creative and unique approach to democracy and worldwide terrorism, exploring the consequences for the nation-state. This book looks at the connections between terrorism, mobility, consumption, torture and fear. It will be of interest to researchers as well as postgraduate and postdoctoral students within the fields of Human Geography, Politics, Media and International Relations.