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Dickinson to Durban » Entries tagged with "Bulkeley and Newell"

Top to Bottom: Inspiring Bottom-up using the Top

Top to Bottom: Inspiring Bottom-up using the Top

Sam Parker ’12 Climate change governance and mitigation thus far have taken a very “top-down” approach.  One of the best examples of this is the Conference of the Parties (COP) that occur yearly, bringing together government officials from all across the world to discuss climate change and its different aspects.  Though, these top-down approaches to global problems often overlook the need for more “bottom-up” or community based approaches to issue that the world faces.  As I … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Conservation, Consumption, Environmental Politics, Key COP17 Issues

Solutions from Industry

By:Esther Babson The private sector is and has been a very important player in the climate negotiations. According to Governing Climate Change by Harriet Bulkeley and Peter Newell, recent times have seen a switch in some areas to a more “positive engagement with climate governance initiatives”(92). As learned from Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, industry’s role typically involves stalling policies and negotiations around climate change. In Governing Climate Change the authors even mention Fred Singer who was a main focus in Merchants of Doubt as a scientist who raised questions about anthropogenic climate change via funds from fossil fuel companies(Bulkely and Newell, 89). Bulkeley and Newell site this strategy of challenging the science of climate change as just one of six different political strategies used to “promote … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Politics

The Blame Game

As a student of environmental studies, it is impossible for me to lay the blame of current global warming/climate change on anyone other than myself and my fellow human beings on this planet. Over and over,skeptics, regulation-weary industries, and politically minded scientists have done their best to dispute the fact that the change in global temperature is a natural occurrence, or is only temporary. However, after decades of research and speculations, the advancement of technology has allowed us to prove that, without a doubt, climate change is occurring and that we are the ones responsible for this change. One of the most famous representations depicting anthropogenic contribution to global warming is the Keeling Curve. This curve shows the annual readings of CO2 from Mauna Loa,Hawaii since 1958 (more information found here). Alright, so we … Read entire article »

Filed under: Environmental Politics

Fair Share

Harriet Bulkeley and Peter Newell (2010) explain the contemporary politics of global climate change with accounts of suspicion, inequality, and skepticism.  Pointing fingers and holding responsibilities are things involved with every political issue throughout history.  When it comes to global climate change, the unethical implications behind actions of developed countries make it easy to see who is responsible for causing, and in turn, preventing climate change from reaching drastic tribulations. Evidence shows that developed countries are indeed most responsible for the causes of climate change; the irony in this is that developing countries will be most affected by impacts of the changing climate.  Bulkeley and Newell (2010) suggest “This sense of injustice derives from the fact that those who have contributed least to the problem of climate change in the past, … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Politics