Dickinson to Durban » Entries tagged with "Bulkeley and Newell"
It is Time to take Responsibility and ACT!
Every nation state, and every person, holds some degree of responsibility for anthropogenic climate change. In the world today, one cannot live without leaving an impact. However, the answer is not as simple as that because responsibility is not distributed equally. It is crucial to recognize the vastly different emissions of states. In that light, those states who have contributed most to the problem ought to be charged with the task of leading the nation states towards more sustainable economies and ways of life. This requires the cooperation of states who hold the most power in the international system, who currently feel little direct effects of climate change, and who are stubbornly stuck in their gas guzzling ways. Thus, persuading these states to take responsibility for their contribution to climate … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change
As the Gap Widens
By: Christine Burns ’14 The issues surrounding responsibility for climate change stem from an inequality between developed and developing nations. This inequality makes it difficult for them to see eye to eye, on issues such as responsibility for causing climate change and for fixing climate change.When it comes down to it, it does not matter who is responsible, because everyone is affected by climate change. We can play the blame game, but that is not going to solve anything. Yet, it must be said that developed nations such as the United States and Europe are predominately responsible for the climate change that is starting to be seen now (Bulkeley and Newell). They went through their industrial revolutions 150 years ago during which they relied heavily on fossil fuels, and since then … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change
Rethinking the Nation State and its Role in Climate Governance
Global problems like global climate change are typically seen to require global solutions. And the actors typically seen to be responsible for these global problems are the nation-states that constitute the global system. Bulkeley and Newell challenge this assumption in their book Governing Climate Change, arguing against the view that “the nation-state is the only or necessarily most important unit of climate politics” (p. 4). While I certainly agree that a “nation-state” is an inadequate unit of analysis when construed simply as the sovereign government of a state, I prefer to rethink the understanding of the nation-state rather than discredit its importance. In support of their argument, Bulkeley and Newell demonstrate the need to expand the view of the nation-state, suggesting an alternative view of the state as “a dynamic system … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change
Varying Approaches
Global climate change is a global problem. It is affecting every area of the planet right now. It is affecting humans, plants, animals, chemical cycles, the atmosphere and ocean composition. Climate change is also a result of actions from every corner of the world, from the smoke stacks of China to the farming of a small village in Kenya to the running water that was left on by a child in Chicago. Climate change is the biggest problem that the human race has ever faced, simply because of its vast variety of causes and effects. So how do we fix it? The concept is simple, if we are all causing the problem and if we are all seeing the effects then we all have a responsibility to fix it. In reality, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Mosaic Action
Recent Comments