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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 6, NUMBER 6, JUNE 1993

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
GENERAL INTEREST AND POLICY

Item #d93jun1

"Global Climate Change and Sustainable Development," J. Firor (Nat. Ctr. Atmos. Res., POB 3000, Boulder CO 80307), J.E. Jacobsen, Air & Waste, 43(5), 707-722, May 1993.

A comprehensive review of climate change science and of recent thinking regarding sustainable development. Uses the atmosphere as an example of a natural system being modified by human activities to an extent that probably cannot be sustained over long periods of time without serious damage to the biosphere and to society. Enormous challenges stand in the way of an easy move toward a sustainable world, because of the human poverty that exists in many regions as well as the ingrained preferences of high-consumption societies. Any clear understanding of sustainability will depend on analysis of complex issues involving intertwining matters of science, human values, and political interests.

(This annual critical review was presented at the June meeting of the Air & Waste Management Association; subsequent discussion and comment from that meeting and comments submitted by readers will be considered for inclusion in the September 1993 issue of this journal. Send to AWMA, POB 2861, Pittsburgh PA 15230.)

Item #d93jun2

"The Question of Linkages in Environment and Development," N. Myers (Environ. Consultant, Headington, Oxford OX3 8SZ, UK), BioScience, 43(5), 302-310, May 1993.

A revised version of a policy background paper prepared for the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development. Examines the entire issue of the dynamic linkages that exist among the various activities of society--scientific, economic, political and others--and discusses examples from several spheres of activity. Suggests approaches for addressing such linkages in a systematic fashion.

Item #d93jun3

"Unfair Solution to an Uncertain Problem: The Natural Evolution of Climate Change," I.A.H. Ismail (OPEC, Obere Danaustr. 93, 1020 Vienna, Austria), OPEC Bull., 24(4), 9-15, Apr. 1993.

A petroleum geologist sets the greenhouse effect in the context of natural climatic variations, as a basis for arguing against fossil fuels as the culprit that should receive the most attention. Discusses measures such as the EC carbon/energy tax and their impacts on OPEC.

Item #d93jun4

"Determinants of Environmental Action with Regard to Climatic Change," C. Jaeger (Swiss Fed. Inst. Technol., ETH-Z, 8092 Zurich, Switz.), G. Dürrenberger et al., Clim. Change, 23(3), 193-211, Mar. 1993.

Presents a theory-based empirical study of factors influencing the probability that an individual will take environmental action relevant to climate change. Compares three possible models for the process, finding one based on socio-cultural variables to be superior, and discusses implications for interdisciplinary cooperation and policy making.

Item #d93jun5

"A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Policy Research," D.S. Rothman (Dept. Agric. Econ., Cornell Univ., Ithaca NY 14853), D. Chapman, Contemp. Policy Issues, XI(1), 88-98, Jan. 1993.

Shortcomings in present policy research include: myopic vision of available options; overly anthropocentric cost/benefit assessments; inadequate treatment of uncertainty and irreversibility; lack of recognition of differences in the motives of developing and developed countries; poor presentation and interpretation of results; and limited peer review.

Item #d93jun6

"Negotiating a Response to Climate Change: Role of Biological Emissions," T.E. Drennen (address immed. above), D. Chapman, ibid., X(3), 49-58, July 1992.

Previous estimates of the contribution to climate change by enteric fermentation in wild and domestic animals have ignored the associated biological and chemical cycling that removes carbon from the atmosphere. This analysis illustrates the importance of these processes, finding that reducing CO₂ emissions from energy use in developed countries is economically preferable to reducing net methane emissions from animal sources.

Item #d93jun7

Two items from Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 74(5), May 1993:

"Flat Organizations for Earth Science," J.H. Ausubel (Rockefeller Univ., New York, N.Y.), J.H. Steele, 809-814. Analyzes why major American institutions figure less and less in the leadership and management of American science, a trend especially evident in the earth and environmental sciences, where global issues lead the agenda. Discusses resulting new risks and needs.

"Comments on "Global Warming: A Reduced Threat?," 855-857. Concerns the possible offset of greenhouse warming by sulfur emissions.