Global environmental change III: Closing the gap between knowledge and action
TL;DR: There are increasing calls from the global environmental change research community for new strategies for translating knowledge into action as discussed by the authors, yet these calls are often based on the assumption that knowledge is not new.
Abstract: There are increasing calls from the global environmental change research community for new strategies for translating knowledge into action. Such calls are not new, yet they are often based on the ...
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TL;DR: The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience by Rob Hopkins as discussed by the authors outlines a realistic and hopeful vision of post-carbon communities and the practical steps needed to get there.
Abstract: Review: The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience By Rob Hopkins Reviewed by Alex Alkhoury University of Western Ontario, Canada Hopkins, Rob. The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2008. 240 pp. ISBN: 9781900322188. US$24.95, paper. Chlorine-free recycled paper. The intertwined emergencies of peak oil and climate change demand dramatic, urgent action across a range of scales, the magnitude of which can threaten to overwhelm people, particularly those who are just learning about these issues. When problems seem overwhelming it can easily lead to individual inaction and collective inertia, and this is precisely what Rob Hopkins seeks to overcome in The Transition Handbook. His essential goal is to outline a realistic and hopeful vision of post-carbon communities and the practical steps needed to get there. The starting point for Transition is the essential problem now widely understood as ‘peak oil’: as the production of conventional oil declines, its growing scarcity will drive increasingly higher fuel prices with profound implications for industrial economies. Hopkins argues that while climate change exists in the public consciousness as an intangible or, at most, distant fear, the decline of cheap fossil energy is a much more proximate and understandable problem for many – as barrels of oil are easier to visualize than tonnes of [greenhouse] gas (p.40) – and can thus simultaneously spark necessary action on both issues. Hopkins begins by succinctly describing the nature of the problems (what he calls ‘The Head’), then appeals for a rational, composed response (in a section called the 'The Heart'), before digging into the crux of the book, ‘The Hands,’ a discussion of specific, transitional steps and strategies to move beyond economies centred on fossil energy. His 'Twelve Steps of Transition' are underpinned by a clear statement of six core principles, including positive 'visioning', 'inclusion' of all members of the community, 'awareness-raising', 'resilience', using 'psychological insights' to counter the threat of inaction, and focusing on the community level to attain 'credible and appropriate solutions'. For Hopkins, a community's resilience hinges on its ability to produce core goods and services, while only importing what cannot be sourced locally. Building momentum for re-localization depends upon first building a strong foundation of community-level understanding of the issues and rebuilding connections among people. Hopkins provides great, practical detail here, outlining strategies on running successful public meetings, and providing tips on organizing things like empowering re- skilling group events, and how best to obtain publicity for both these and also the launch of a given Transition Initiative. In this, Transition also doubles as a best practices guide for the logistical elements of community organization and activism. This practical and optimistic ‘how to’ dimension is undoubtedly the book’s great objective and strength, and for this it should appeal to those eager to inspire action in their own communities. However, it is not Hopkins' intention to provide a precise, universal plan, but rather a general set of guidelines backed by motivating examples of contemporary re-localization efforts. At times, this does leave difficult questions of scale underdeveloped, with much of the discussion directed at the level of relatively small communities. With a background in permaculture and as the founder of the UK Transition movement, Hopkins is well-positioned to offer both a broader vision and a practical plan for re-localization and self-reliance. His achievement in this book is to give concrete grounds for optimism in a captivating and highly accessible way. In this, it is a particularly useful antidote to those who are concerned but overwhelmed, as well as being a useful starting point into peak oil and transition issues for progressive scholars, students, activists and the general public alike. Alex Alkhoury. , MA Student, Department of Geography, University of Western Ontario, Social Science Centre, London, Ontario N6A 5C2, Canada. Electronic Green Journal, Issue 29, Winter 2009, ISSN:1076-7975
488 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the social sciences should refrain from adjusting to standardized research agendas and templates, and that a more urgent analytical challenge lies in exposing, challenging and extending the ontological assumptions that inform how we make sense of and respond to a rapidly changing environment.
Abstract: This paper asks how the social sciences can engage with the idea of the Anthropocene in productive ways. In response to this question we outline an interpretative research agenda that allows critical engagement with the Anthropocene as a socially and culturally bounded object with many possible meanings and political trajectories. In order to facilitate the kind of political mobilization required to meet the complex environmental challenges of our times, we argue that the social sciences should refrain from adjusting to standardized research agendas and templates. A more urgent analytical challenge lies in exposing, challenging and extending the ontological assumptions that inform how we make sense of and respond to a rapidly changing environment. By cultivating environmental research that opens up multiple interpretations of the Anthropocene, the social sciences can help to extend the realm of the possible for environmental politics.
315 citations
Cites background from "Global environmental change III: Cl..."
...been diverted away from the social and cultural norms, practices and power relations that drive environmental problems in the first place (O’Brien, 2012)....
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TL;DR: The authors identify five latent risks associated with discourse that frames transformation as apolitical and/or inevitable and refer to these risks as the dark side of transformation, and suggest that scientists, policymakers, and practitioners need to consider such change in more inherently plural and political ways.
Abstract: The notion of transformation is gaining traction in contemporary sustainability debates. New ways of theorising and supporting transformations are emerging and, so the argument goes, opening exciting spaces to (re)imagine and (re)structure radically different futures. Yet, questions remain about how the term is being translated from an academic concept into an assemblage of normative policies and practices, and how this process might shape social, political, and environmental change. Motivated by these questions, we identify five latent risks associated with discourse that frames transformation as apolitical and/or inevitable. We refer to these risks as the dark side of transformation. While we cannot predict the future of radical transformations towards sustainability, we suggest that scientists, policymakers, and practitioners need to consider such change in more inherently plural and political ways.
310 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss how to overcome it and unlock the potential in yourself and your organization through personal or organizational change, and how to change can be either planned or unplanned.
Abstract: Change can be either planned or unplanned. Unplanned change occurs suddenly due to specific circumstances whereas planned change is a longer process that involves planning to achieve a specific goal. Change can be personal or organizational. However, in order for an organization to have positive change, then it begins with you. IMMUNITY TO CHANGE: How to Overcome it and Unlock Potential in Yourself and your Organization.
310 citations
TL;DR: A brief overview of different conceptualisations of transformation, and a set of practical principles for effective research and action towards sustainability are outlined in this paper. But these approaches are not mutually exclusive.
238 citations
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Book•
01 Jul 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors set the stage for impact, adaptation, and vulnerability assessment of climate change in the context of sustainable development and equity, and developed and applied scenarios in Climate Change Impact, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Assessment.
Abstract: Summary for policymakers Technical summary Part I. Setting the Stage for Impact, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Assessment: 1. Overview 2. Methods and tools 3. Development and application of scenarios in Climate Change Impact, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Assessment Part II. Sectors and Systems: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: 4. Hydrology and water resources 5. Natural and managed ecosystems 6. Coastal zones and marine ecosystems 7. Energy, industry, and settlements 8. Financial services 9. Human health Part III. Regional Analyses: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: 10. Africa 11. Asia 12. Australasia 13. Europe 14. Latin America 15. North America 16. Polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) 17. Small island states Part IV. Global Issues and Synthesis: 18. Adaptation to climate change in the context of sustainable development and equity 19. Synthesis and integration of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability Index.
12,541 citations
TL;DR: This study suggests that efforts to mobilize S&T for sustainability are more likely to be effective when they manage boundaries between knowledge and action in ways that simultaneously enhance the salience, credibility, and legitimacy of the information they produce.
Abstract: The challenge of meeting human development needs while protecting the earth's life support systems confronts scientists, technologists, policy makers, and communities from local to global levels. Many believe that science and technology (S&T) must play a more central role in sustainable development, yet little systematic scholarship exists on how to create institutions that effectively harness S&T for sustainability. This study suggests that efforts to mobilize S&T for sustainability are more likely to be effective when they manage boundaries between knowledge and action in ways that simultaneously enhance the salience, credibility, and legitimacy of the information they produce. Effective systems apply a variety of institutional mechanisms that facilitate communication, translation and mediation across boundaries.
2,934 citations
"Global environmental change III: Cl..." refers background in this paper
...Indeed, much has already been written on the science-policy interface, the role of boundary organizations, the communication of science, and the emergence of post-normal and even ‘post’ post-normal science (Cash et al., 2003; Moser and Dilling, 2011; Ravetz, 2006; Vogel et al., 2007)....
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TL;DR: The Age of Irresponsibility, the Dilemma of growth, the Myth of Decoupling, the Iron Cage of Consumerism, and the Green New Deal as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Foreword 1. Prosperity Lost 2. The Age of Irresponsibility 3. Redefining Prosperity 4. The Dilemma of Growth 5. The Myth of Decoupling 6. The 'Iron Cage' of Consumerism 7. Keynesianism and the 'Green New Deal' 8. Ecological Macro-Economics 9. Flourishing - within Limits 10. Governance for Prosperity 11. The Transition to a Sustainable Economy 12. A Lasting Prosperity Appendices References Endnotes
2,113 citations
TL;DR: This paper presents a meta-analyses of the chiral stationary phase of the LaSalle-Seiden–Seiden virus, which has implications for the design of vaccines and their application in the treatment of infectious disease.
Abstract: Author(s): Robert W. Kates, William C. Clark, Robert Corell, J. Michael Hall, Carlo C. Jaeger, Ian Lowe, James J. McCarthy, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Bert Bolin, Nancy M. Dickson, Sylvie Faucheux, Gilberto C. Gallopin, Arnulf Grübler, Brian Huntley, Jill Jäger, Narpat S. Jodha, Roger E. Kasperson, Akin Mabogunje, Pamela Matson, Harold Mooney, Berrien Moore III, Timothy O'Riordan, Uno Svedin Reviewed work(s): Source: Science, New Series, Vol. 292, No. 5517 (Apr. 27, 2001), pp. 641-642 Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3083523 . Accessed: 28/02/2012 04:14
2,107 citations
"Global environmental change III: Cl..." refers background in this paper
...(Brito and Stafford Smith, 2012) This is by no means a new idea; solutionsoriented approaches to science have been promoted in literatures ranging from sustainability science to action research (Kates et al., 2001; Reason and Bradbury, 2006)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reflect on what seems to be a yawning gulf between the potential contribution of the social sciences and the typically restricted models and assumptions and present a short and deliberately provocative paper.
Abstract: In this short and deliberately provocative paper I reflect on what seems to be a yawning gulf between the potential contribution of the social sciences and the typically restricted models and conce...
1,944 citations
"Global environmental change III: Cl..." refers background in this paper
...…with a social practices approach, with the latter challenging the dominant paradigm and hence ‘doomed to be forever marginal’ in a world where systems, structures, and institutions have been developed to realize competing goals that are largely incompatible with sustainability (Shove, 2010: 1283)....
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...…has been long questioned by researchers, it is continually reproduced, based on the assumption that if people just knew, they would of course do something – and, since they are not, there is a need for policies that influence attitudes, behaviors, and choices (see Norgaard, 2011; Shove, 2010)....
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...Yet, although the linear model of translating knowledge into action has been long questioned by researchers, it is continually reproduced, based on the assumption that if people just knew, they would of course do something – and, since they are not, there is a need for policies that influence attitudes, behaviors, and choices (see Norgaard, 2011; Shove, 2010)....
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...Reviewing policy-related reports and the models of change upon which they are based, Shove (2010) critiques the widespread focus on attitude, behavior, and choice (ABC) as a model for climate change policy....
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...An alternative model of social change, she argues, involves a weakening of the contemporary rules of the game, a questioning of the status quo, and the introduction of more sustainable regimes into all domains of daily life (Shove, 2010)....
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