Table of Contents In This Global Change and Sustainability Study
INTRODUCTION The Role of Humans in Global Change
6
Chapter I
A. DEFINITIVE CHALLENGES A.1. Global Change
1.1 HUMAN REDICAMENT
1.1a Resource Debt
1.1b Global Wealth Gap
1.1c Paradigm Shift
1.1d Global Self-organization
10
A.2. Climate Change
2.1 DEFINING THE ISSUE
2.1a Earth Systems
2.1b Systems Perspective
2.1c CC role in Global Change
2.2 FINDING OUR RESPONSE
2.2a Current situation
2.2b Obstacles to Response
2.2c Confronting Climate Change.
2.2d US actions
17
A.3. Public Awareness
3.1 MESSAGES & MESSENGERS
3.1a Familiarity with the Message
3.1b Messengers
3.1c Message to Policy
25
Chapter 1 Endnotes
27
Chapter 2
B. COMMUNICATION B.1. Changing Media
1.1 CREATING CREDIBILITY
1.1a Expansion of Communication
1.1b Establishing Veracity
35
B.2. Democratic Efficacy
2.1 INFORMATION FOR LEADERSHIP
2.1a Role of Leadership
2.1b Climate Change Example
37
B.3. Public Opinion
3.1 LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY
3.1a Opinion Polling
3.1b Climate Change Example
38
B. Discussion
B. Endnotes
42
Chapter 3
C. POLTICAL C.1. Mandate for Sustainability
1.1 MANAGEMENT OF OUR SOCIETIES
1.1a Evolving Management
1.1b Precautionary Policy
1.1c Dealing with Overconsumption
1.1d Dealing with Overpopulation
1.1e Dealing with Corporate Control
44
C.2. Expanded Governance
2.1 COMPLEXITY OF COMPOSITION
2.1a More Complete Representation
2.1b Performance Indicators
48
C.3. Improving Policy Decisions
3.1 EXERTING LEADERSHIP
3.1a Facilitating Leadership
3.1b. Climate Change Example
3.2 OBJECTIFICATION OF POLICY
3.2a Decision Making
3.2b Strategies
3.2c Risks
50
C. Discussion
C. Endnotes
55
Chapter 4
D. ECONOMY D.1. Unstable & Unsustainable
1.1 NOT SELF-REGULATING
1.1a Should we Restructure?
58
D2. Basic Flaws
2.1 WHAT NEEDS CHANGING
2.1a Basic Flaws
2.1b Wrong Direction
59
D.3. What needs Restructuring?
3.1 DYSFUNCTIONAL ASPECTS
3.1a Externalizing Values
3.1b Financial Growth
3.1c Measuring Growth
3.1d Interest
3.1e Wealth Inequality
3.1f Technology
3.1g Negenthropic Growth
3.1h Scale
3.1i Monetary Standard
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D.4. Why include Natural Capital?
4.1 WHY TREAT NATURE’S GOODS & SERVICES AS FREE?
4.1a Our Wrong Assumption
4.2 QUANTIFYING NATURAL CAPITAL
4.2a Ecosystems Goods and Services
4.2b Valuation
4.2c Cost-Benefit Analysis
4.3 ARE WE MISUSING RENEWABLE RESOURCES?
4.2a Usage
4.3 WHY WORRY ABOUT NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES?
4.3a Minerals
4.4 WHAT’S WRONG WITH CONVENTIONAL FOSSIL FUEL?
4.4a Nonrenewable and depleting
4.4b Dealing with Depletion
4.5 SHOULD WE COUNT ON UNCONVENTIONAL FOSSIL FUEL?
4.5a Unconventional Sources
4.5b Production & Consumption
4.5c Insufficient Production
4.5d Environmental Concerns
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D.5. Social Capital
WHY DO SOCIETAL VALUES MATTER?
5.1a Defining Social Capital
5.1b Descriptors
5.2 QUANTIFYING SOCIAL CAPITAL
5.2a Useful Indices
5.2b Relation between social and Financial Capital
5.2c Gini Index
5.3 RAMIFICATIONS OF INEQUALITY
5.3a Wellbeing
5.3b Happiness
5.3c Economic Inequality
5.3d Inequality and Civic Engagement
5.3e Lessons from Trend
84
5.1
D. Discussion
D. Endnotes
101
Chapter 5
E. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT E.1. Sustainability as a Goal
1.1 DEFINING THE GOAL
1.1a What is Sustainability?
1.1b What is Sustainable Development?
102
E.2. Global Overshoot
2.1 WHAT INDICATES OUR UNSUSTAINABILITY?
2.1a Overshooting our Carrying Capacity
2.1b Destroying our Biocapacity
2.1c Our Demanding Economy
2.1d The lack of Natural and Social Capital Valuations
2.1e The Consequences of Cheap Energy
2.1f Our Suffocating Waste Stream
2.1g Our Growing Population Growth
106
E.3. Resource Management
3.1 WHAT IS OUR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT?
3.1a Our Resource Management Strategy
120
E.4. Aspects of Implementation
4.1 COMMITTING TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
4.1a Political Commitment
4.1b Path and Direction
4.1c Starting References
4.2 CONTROLS, CONSTRAINTS, AND COMPLEXITY
4.2a Boundaries and Thresholds
4.2b Resilience and Adaptation
4.3c Self-organizations
4.3 SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS
4.3a Economic Revisions
4.3b Social Responsibility Vs. Individual Freedom
4.3c The Sustainable Trade-Offs
122
E.5. Sustainability and Spirituality
5.1 CONVERGENT PROPERTIES
5.1a Similar Properties and Goals
5.1b Faith-Based Convictions
E. Discussion
E. Endnotes
144
Chapter 6
F. COMPLEX SYSTEMS F.1. Systems Theory
1.1 SHORT EXPLANATION
150
F.2. Natural Laws
2.1 RELEVANCE TO SUSTAINABILITY
2.1a Cooperation and Competition
2.1b Conservation of Energy
2.1c Entropy
152
F.3. Disturbance Response
3.1 REGARDING POLICY DECISIONS
3.1a Self-organization
3.1b Multiple Stresses
157
F.4. Managing Earth Systems
4.1 POLICY FOR COMPLEX SYSTEMS
4.1a Integrating Natural and Human Laws
4.1b SPICOSA Example
160
F.5. Atmosphere and Fossil Fuel
5.1. FOSSIL FUEL DISTURBANCE
5.1a Losing Equilibrium
5.1b Achilles Heel
5.1c Cheap Energy
168
F.6. Atmosphere-Fossil Fuel Interactions
4.1 FEEDBACK LOOPS
4.1a Atmospheric Window
4.1b Air Pollution
4.1c FF resource Exhaustion
4.1c Sea Level Rise
175
F.7. Climate Change Urgency
7.1 GLOBAL THREAT
7.2 MULTIPLE ISSUES
7.3 COMPLEX ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES
182
F. Discussion.
F. Endnotes.
195