Group items tagged

Across the United States, cities, towns, and counties are enacting policies and programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Many local governments are motivated by concerns about the impacts of climate change in their communities as well as an understanding that energy and climate solutions can benefit local economies and residents. Their actions reflect a strong history of local leadership in climate protection in the United States. While local governments face a number of limitations in addressing climate change, they can be a key part of the solution. Like states and regions, local governments can demonstrate leadership by implementing strategies to confront climate change and laying the groundwork for broader action at the national and international levels.

This brief is part of a series called Climate Change 101: Understanding and Responding to Global Climate Change, published by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

Recommendations for integrating into policymaking in the U.S. foresight processes, responsiveness and feedback.

''Clumsy Solutions for a Complex World'' is a powerful and original statement on why well-intended attempts to alleviate pressing social ills too often derail, and how effective, efficient and broadly acceptable solutions to social problems can be found. It takes its cue from the idea that our endlessly changing and complex social worlds consist of ceaseless interactions between four ways of organizing, justifying and perceiving social relations. Each time one of these perspectives is excluded from collective decision-making, governance failure inevitably results. Successful solutions are therefore creative combinations of four opposing ways of organizing and thinking.

Rhoda, when I click on the link it goes to a login for Swarthmore. I'm thinking this article by the same authors may cover similar ground -- http://psychologyforasafeclimate.org/resources/Clumsy%20solutions%20for%20a%20complex%20world%20The%20case%20of%20climate%20change.pdf

Sorry about the link problem, Felicia. I'll see if I can fix it. Thanks for finding one that works!

A report based on a series of "dialogue sessions" within and among scientists and policymakers in the Canadian federal government. While the report focuses on next steps for Canada agencies in particular, the description of existing conditions and justification for a new approach ring true. It's especially interesting that they identify the need for interpreters who can work at the interface, but do not explore means for establishing that role, nor do they promote this option as a fully-developed next step.

resources re: best practices for emergency preparedness from the federal government

As a project-driven organization, our goal is to translate conservation science into compelling visual messages targeted to specific audiences. We work with leading scientists, policy makers, government leaders and conservation groups to produce the highest-quality documentary images of both the beauty and wonder of the natural world and the challenges facing it.

Rhoda this is linking to posts by others around creativity and communication in this endeavor. Interesting.

"The dam collapse [in 1979] is one of the worst environmental disasters in history, and no one has heard about it,"--myself included. One of the policy responses to extreme climatic events is to suppress knowledge. ""This book is an attempt to tell the story of this place-western India in 1979-this monsoon, the government cover-up that unjustly silenced this narrative for too long..." 25,000 people died.

"Cultural Theory is used as a theoretical lens for understanding the different interpretations of the risk associated with BSE/nvCJD, the subsequent risk amplification by the media, and the effect of trust and reliance in science and government in their construction."

Ralph Nader's Critical Mass Project (mentioned in Dickson's book) is now par of Public Citizen a consumer advocacy group. They support a range of topics and do so without funding from corporations, government or professional organizations. Their anti-nuclear policy agenda is linked to a larger set of policy initiatives focused on passing energy policy that is rooted in renewable energy. They provide information, action alerts and ways to oppose the resurgence of nuclear.

This article reflects on the similarities, differences and complexities of science and democracy. Indeed, science is present in our daily lives and democracy through our actions that foster society are present daily as well. Because of the impact of science on society, democracy may be seen as a core element in guiding science towards the greater good. Nevertheless, government use and intervention of science may not be always so. Therefore, it is the people's right and obligation to engage government and scientists reminding them of the benefits but also the risks of their projects and objectives. Science and business may create a covenient and profitable conduit for developing new inventions and advancing science. However, through democracy, we may and should remind them of the ethical implications of their discoveries and the need to work for the greater good and benefitting all. An interesting article that also provides some insights about Obama's policies on Science.

The American Climate and Environmental Value Survey (ACEVS) is the third application of sophisticated psychographic research on American environmental and climate values. The goal of ACEVS is to increase the leverage, scale, reach, and most importantly, efficacy, of climate and environmental initiatives by empowering the movement with proven research and methodology for authentically engaging Americans in climate and environmental solutions, bringing these Americans to solutions on their own terms, in context of their choosing, and for their personal benefit.

This survey includes a section on what influences people (primarily the media). It also begins with the comment that "cap and trade" is now "toxic." It would be interesting to connect the dots here (as Oreskes & co-author do in Merchants of Doubt), so that we see who was behind the push against cap and trade. Ironically, cap and trade originated as a free market alternative to government regulation of how much pollution could be emitted.

Fred Singer!

Are facts enough? Humans tend to ignore facts they don't like. Sometimes facts that disprove the legitimacy of one's beliefs only cause one to believe more strongly in their original (and demonstrably false) opinion.

Published by the Council of Canadian Academies, this paper reviews a bit of the history of the relationship between policy and science, as well as policy and scientists. The author, Executive VP of the Council, starts from a broad view, describing an "is (fact)/ought (value)" dichotomy between science and policy, moves closer to characterize the range of relationships between scientists and policymakers and their attitudes toward each other, describes their spheres of influence (world of progress v. world of power), and finally makes the case for government as a place for collaboration and progress employing both. Saner offers some "take-home messages" and some questions for further exploration, including how to meet the needs of each while facilitating communication; managing the divergent cultures to reach successful ends; creating incentives for both players to join the effort; and adapting to the multitude of ways the differences between these two groups manifest themselves around policy issues.

In California, under state proposed regulations, water pumping from local rivers would be illegal in order to protect a threatened species of salmon. This might clash with grape growers who utilize this water to protect their crops from low temperatures. Legislators must find a solution for the issue at hand without damaging either party.

Similar conflicts over water take place all over the semiarid western US. In Idaho researchers found a way to use satellite imagery (Landsat) to monitor and measure water consumption by agriculture, and identify specific agribusinesses with destruction of streams, for enforcement and litigation support. Their work received a Harvard award for innovation in government. This is not a first for technical solutions for environmental enforcement, but it's an extremely important step in large-scale water management - which will become a bigger and bigger part of our daily life. It may also preserve the USGS Landsat program, which is in danger of abandonment. (This is near to my line of work, as it happens.) (http://ashinstitute.harvard.edu/corporate_site/innovations/innovations_news/mapping_evapotranspiration_wins_innovations_in_american_government_award; more links if you're interested.) Alex_Brown@uml.edu http://gis.uml.edu/abrown2

UK govt. sacks head of scientific panel on drug policy for publicly stating relative risk of ecstasy & marijuana.