Advances in the science and observation of climate change are providing a clearer understanding of the inherent variability of Earth's climate system and its likely response to human and natural influences. The implications of climate change for the environment and society will depend not only on the response of the Earth system to changes in radiative forcings, but also on how humankind responds through changes in technology, economies, lifestyle and policy. Extensive uncertainties exist in future forcings of and responses to climate change, necessitating the use of scenarios of the future to explore the potential consequences of different response options. To date, such scenarios have not adequately examined crucial possibilities, such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, and have relied on research processes that slowed the exchange of information among physical, biological and social scientists. Here we describe a new process for creating plausible scenarios to investigate some of the most challenging and important questions about climate change confronting the global community.

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The next generation of scenarios for climate change research and assessment

Climate change is not 'a problem' waiting for 'a solution' It is an environmental, cultural and political phenomenon which is re-shaping the way we think about ourselves, our societies and humanity's place on Earth Drawing upon twenty-five years of professional work as an international climate change scientist and public commentator, Mike Hulme provides a unique insider's account of the emergence of this phenomenon and the diverse ways in which it is understood He uses different standpoints from science, economics, faith, psychology, communication, sociology, politics and development to explain why we disagree about climate change In this way he shows that climate change, far from being simply an 'issue' or a 'threat', can act as a catalyst to revise our perception of our place in the world Why We Disagree About Climate Change is an important contribution to the ongoing debate over climate change and its likely impact on our lives

https://assets.cambridge.org/97805217/27327/copyright/9780521727327_copyright_info.pdf

Why we disagree about climate change : understanding controversy, inaction and opportunity

How effectively business deals with the challenges of sustainability will define its success for decades to come. Current sustainability strategies have three major deficiencies: they do not directly focus on the customer, they do not recognize the looming threats from rising global over-consumption, and they do not take a holistic approach. We present a framework for a customer-centric approach to sustainability. This approach recasts the sustainability metric to emphasize the outcomes of business actions measured holistically in term of environmental, personal and economic well-being of the consumer. We introduce the concept of mindful consumption (MC) as the guiding principle in this approach. MC is premised on a consumer mindset of caring for self, for community, and for nature, that translates behaviorally into tempering the self-defeating excesses associated with acquisitive, repetitive and aspirational consumption. We also make the business case for fostering mindful consumption, and illustrate how the marketing function can be harnessed to successfully implement the customer-centric approach to sustainability.

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Mindful consumption: a customer-centric approach to sustainability

Humanity's Current Dilemma The Global Ecosystem and the Economic Subsystem From Localized Limits to Global Limits Population and Poverty Beyond Brundtland Toward Sustainability The Fragmentation of Economics and the Natural Sciences The Historical Development of Economics and Ecology Early Codevelopment of Economics and Natural Science Economics and Ecology Specialize and Separate Reintegration of Ecology and Economics Conclusions Principles and Objectives of Ecological Economics Sustainable Scale, Fair Distribution, and Efficient Allocation Ecosystems, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services Substitutability versus Complementarity of Natural, Human, Social, and Built Capital Population and Carrying Capacity Measuring Welfare and Well-Being Valuation, Choice, and Uncertainty Trade and Community Institutions, Instruments, and Policies History of Environmental Institutions and Instruments The Need to Develop a Shared Vision of a Sustainable Society Successes, Failures, and Remedies Policy Instruments: Some Background Examples of Policies, Instruments, and Institutions Governance Conclusions and Prospects for the Future References Index

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An Introduction to Ecological Economics

This paper describes the nature and design of post-industrial organizations. It begins with an assessment of the popular literature on post-industrial society, and finds that this literature is an inappropriate basis for inferring the nature of post-industrial organizations. Partly as a consequence of this finding, the paper turns to systems theory as a basis for determining both the nature of post-industrial society and the nature of the increased demands that this environment would impose on post-industrial organizations. The middle three sections of the paper describe design features that post-industrial organizations will employ to deal with these demands. In particular they examine designs for making more effective three processes that will exhibit increased importance in post-industrial organizations: 1 decision-making, 2 innovation, and 3 information acquisition and distribution.

In addition to its conclusions concerning the design features that post-industrial organizations will possess, the paper sets forth three general conclusions. One of these is that, even though the aggregate of the demands on post-industrial organizations will be qualitatively greater than that experienced by previous organizations, there are design features that organizations can adopt that will enable them to cope with even worst-case loadings of these demands. A second conclusion is that the nature of the post-industrial environment will cause decision-making, innovation, and information acquisition and distribution to take on added importance in post-industrial organizations, and that one result of this will be that organizations will attempt to ensure routine effectiveness of these processes through increased formalization. In some cases this formalization will have as its purpose ensuring the existence of informal or at least unstructured activities, such as experimentation by "self-designing" organizations or acquisition of "soft" information by top managers.

The third conclusion set forth is that during the current transition period between the industrial and post-industrial societies we can expect many organizations to fail, or to flee to less than wholly desirable niches, because they are ignorant of the post-industrial technologies, structures, and processes that would enable them to successfully engage the post-industrial environment and to become viable post-industrial organizations. It appears that an important task of organizational and management scientists during this period will be to aid in the development, transfer, and implementation of post-industrial design features and in this way help reduce the possibility of unnecessary failure or flight.

The Nature and Design of Post-Industrial Organizations

Matrix methods in elastomechanics

Mankind at the turning point : , Mankind at the turning point : , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی

Mankind at the turning point

Beyond the Limits to Growth: A Report to the Club of Rome

The rapid succession of crises which are currently engulfing the entire world are the clearest indication that humanity is at a turning point in its historical evolution and the way to make doomsday prophecies self-fulfilling is to ignore the obvious signs of perils that lie ahead. This scientifically conducted analysis of the long-term world development based on all available data points out quite clearly that such a passive course leads to disaster. It is necessary that the problems be faced and that alternative paths of development be assessed in a positive and hopeful way. The concept of the "organic growth" of humankind that is proposed in this report is intended as a contribution toward achieving that end. If humankind embarked on a path of organic growth the world would emerge as a system of interdependent and harmonious parts each making its own unique contribution be it in economics resources or culture. The conclusions and recommendations reported in this book are derived from the analysis of alternative patterns of long-term world development using a flexible computer-based planning instrument which contains a multilevel regionalized model of the world system. The model recognizes the diversity that exists in the world and represents the world as a system that is as collection of mutually interacting and interdependent parts. The model is based on available data and understanding of the developmental processes in all relevant scientific disciplines. Several critical problem areas have been examined specifically the world food shortage energy crises population growth and disparity in economic development.

Eduard Pestel

Papers

Matrix methods in elastomechanics

Mankind at the turning point

Beyond the Limits to Growth: A Report to the Club of Rome

Mankind at the Turning Point: The Second Report to the Club of Rome

Matrix Methods in Elasto Mechanics