Global change and our common future : papers from a forum / Ruth S. DeFries and Thomas F. Malone, editors.

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Contributor:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Global Change.

DeFries, Ruth S.

Malone, Thomas F.

Conference Name:

Forum on Global Change and Our Common Future (1989 : Washington, D.C.)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Environmental policy--Congresses.

Environmental policy.

Pollution--Environmental aspects--Congresses.

Pollution.

Human ecology--Congresses.

Human ecology.

Global warming--Congresses.

Global warming.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 227 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, 1989.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Forum on Global Change and Our Common Future was organized to inform the public about the changes occurring in the global environment and the implications for public policy. This title includes 22 edited presentations from the Forum.

Contents:

Global Change and our Common Future

Copyright

FOREWORD

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Contents

PART A SOCIETY'S STAKE IN GLOBAL CHANGE

1 Toward a Global Environmental Policy

2 Global Change and our Common Future: The Benjamin Franklin Lecture

3 Global Change and Carrying Capacity: Implications for Life on Earth

DIRECT HUMAN IMPACTS

GLOBAL WARMING

MODELING GLOBAL CHANGE AND FOOD SECURITY

CONCLUSIONS

References

PART B THE EARTH SYSTEM

4 The Earth System

5 Mission to Planet Earth Revisited

GLOBAL CHANGE IN THE LIMELIGHT

GROWING INTEREST

A SCIENTIFIC INITIATIVE

OTHER INITIATIVES

EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT RESPONDS

KEY ISSUES

Redesigning Institutions

Social Sciences and Engineering

Developing Countries

Financing

CONTINUING QUESTIONS

NOTES

6 Historical Perspectives: Climatic Changes Throughout the Millennia

References for Additional Reading

7 Mathematical Modeling of Greenhouse Warming: How Much do we Know?

8 The Earth's Fragile Ozone Shield

HISTORY OF THE OZONE DEPLETION PROBLEM

CURRENT THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF ANTARCTIC OZONE DEPLETION

OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE

METEOROLOGICAL PROCESSES: ANTARCTIC AND ARCTIC

IMPLICATIONS

9 Terrestrial Ecosystems

INTRODUCTION

TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS

MODERN GLOBAL CHANGE AND TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS

10 Human Dimensions Of Global Environmental Change

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

WHAT IS BEING DONE?

THE NATURE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH ON GLOBAL CHANGE

THE RESEARCH AGENDA

RESEARCH AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

SUMMARY

11 The Human Causes of Global Environmental Change

PROXIMATE SOURCES OF CHANGE

HUMAN DRIVING AND MITIGATING FORCES OF CHANGE

Human Driving Forces.

Human Mitigating Forces

HUMAN BEHAVIOR

PART C IMPACTS OF GLOBAL CHANGE

12 What Does Global Change Mean For Society?

THE AGRICULTURAL EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION

OVERGRAZING AND THE LOSS OF GRASSLAND

THE COST OF SOIL EROSION

THE CHANGING POPULATION/LAND RELATIONSHIP

WATER FOR BREAD

THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROSPECT

CLIMATE AND FOOD

TWO SCENARIOS

THE SOCIAL EFFECTS

A NEW FOOD ERA

13 Impacts of Future Sea Level Rise

14 Threats To Biological Diversity As The Earth Warms

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

THE NATURE OF THE ECOLOGICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

SPECIES' RANGES SHIFT IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

MAGNITUDE OF PROJECTED LATITUDINAL SHIFTS

MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RANGE SHIFTS

DISPERSAL RATES AND BARRIERS

SYNERGY OF HABITAT DESTRUCTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE

AMELIORATION AND MITIGATION

CONCLUSION

15 Deforestation and its Role in Possible Changes in the Brazilian Amazon

CAUSES FOR DEFORESTATION

THE EXTENT OF DEFORESTATION

DEFORESTATION AND ITS POSSIBLE PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES

Biodiversity

Hydrological Cycle and Climate

Transport of Sediments

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

16 Impacts of Global Change

PART D IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICY

17 The Global Environment: A National Security Issue

18 Implications for Public Policy: Options for Action

INTRODUCTION: A GLOBAL DILEMMA

THE CRITERIA FOR A SUCCESSFUL RESPONSE

19 View from the North

20 View from the South

REQUIRED CHANGES IN NORTHERN POLICIES TO CHANGE SOUTHERN PUBLIC POLICY TO MEET THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE

SOUTHERN NATIONAL POLICIES REQUIRED TO MAKE THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT SAFER

FINAL REMARK.

21 Political Leadership and the Brundtland Report: What are the Implication for Public Policy?

22 Global Warming: Is it Real and should it be Part of a Global Change Program?*

ASPECTS OF THE DEBATE VISIBLE TO THE PUBLIC

SOME ELEMENTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC DEBATE

VALUE JUDGMENTS AND POLICYMAKING

NEED FOR ONGOING SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION

Continued Observation and Monitoring

Model Validation

CONCLUDING REMARKS

APPENDIXES

Appendix A Program-Forum on Global Change and our Common Future

Appendix B Committee on Global Change and Oversight Committee Members

Committee on Global Change (U.S. National Committee for the IGBP)

AD HOC Committee for Oversight of the Committee on Global Change.

Notes:

"Committee on Global Change, National Research Council".

Proceedings of the Forum on Global Change and Our Common Future, held on May 2-3, 1989, at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., and organized by the National Research Council's Committee on Global Change.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9786610214266

9781280214264

1280214260

9780309543149

0309543142

9780585149028

058514902X

OCLC:

427404620