Climate change and society / John Urry.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Urry, John.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Climatic changes--Social aspects.

Climatic changes.

Global environmental change--Social aspects.

Global environmental change.

Social change--Environmental aspects.

Social change.

Physical Description:

217 pages : 1 illustration ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA : Polity Press, 2011.

Summary:

This book explores the significance of human behaviour for understanding the causes and impacts of changing climates and for assessing varied ways of responding to such changes. So far the discipline that has represented and modelled such human behaviour is economics.

By contrast Climate Change and Society tries to place the 'social' at the heart of both the analysis of climates and the assessment of alternative futures. It demonstrates the importance of social practices organized into systems. In the fateful twentieth century various interlocking high carbon systems were established. This sedimented high carbon social practices, engendering huge population growth, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and leading to potentially declining availability of the oil that made this world go round. Especially important in stabilizing this pattern was the 'carbon military-industrial complex' around the world.

The book goes on to examine how, in this new century, it is systems that have to change, to move from growing high carbon systems to those that are low carbon. Many suggestions are made as to how to innovate such low carbon systems. It is shown that such a transition has to happen fast so as to create positive feedbacks from low carbon systems upon each other. Various scenarios are elaborated for differing futures for the middle of this century - futures that all contain significant costs for the scale, extent and richness of social life.

Climate Change and Society thus attempts to replace economics with sociology as the dominant discipline in climate change analysis. Sociology has spent much time examining the nature of modern societies, of modernity, but mostly failed to analyse the carbon resource base of such societies. This book seeks to remedy that failing. It should appeal to teachers and students in sociology, economics, environmental studies, geography, planning, politics and science studies, as well as to the public concerned with the long-term future of carbon and society. Book jacket.

Contents:

Society matters

Building scientific models of distant futures

The new catastrophism

High carbon lives

Around the world in eighty hours

Politics

Governing catastrophies

Innovating low carbon lives

Alternative future societies

A manifesto for bringing society into climate change.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [169]-204) and index.

ISBN:

0745650376

9780745650364

0745650368

9780745650371

OCLC:

676728902

Publisher Number:

99951909276