Introduction In this course we will focus on the Anthropoidea, a suborder of primates that includes monkeys, apes and humans. We will concentrate our attention here primarily on monkeys. Colour vision, a large brain and intelligence are of great importance in the lives of anthropoids, enabling them to eat foods inaccessible to many other animals and to exploit social situations. In this course, we will be looking at characteristics of primates that differ, or are enhanced, in anthropoids and discussing th
4.4.1 Partnerships for sustainable consumption Moderate NGOs, progressive businesses and government all have a stake in seeing roundtable partnerships come up with practical steps that can bring sustainability closer. One area that has attracted the attention of all these players is consumption. Directing or limiting consumption is politically difficult for even the NGOs to promote. Similarly, ‘voluntary simplicity’ of the sort lived at Findhorn eco-village (Author(s):
4.3.3 Pipe dreams? The idea underlying complementary currencies – that there is a great well of social capital waiting to be drawn upon to make society more sustainable – is an idea that is becoming quietly influential. ‘Social capital’ is a term frequently used by those mainstream politicians and civil servants tasked with addressing the widening gap between rich and poor people within societies throughout the world. Indeed, investing in and enhancing social capital is now the starting point in
3.2.1 What is the difference between government and governance? Governance is from the Greek words kybenan and kybernetes, meaning ‘to steer’ and ‘pilot’ or ‘helmsman’. It is the process whereby ‘an organization or a society steers itself, and the dynamics of communication and control are central to the process’ (Rosenau and Durfee, 1995, p. 14). Of course, you could read these words as a pretty sound definition of government but that would be missing the point. Government describes a more rigid and narrower set
Introduction Human societies have to take urgent action to end their dependence on fossil fuels. They also have to prepare to adapt to the uncertainties inherent in global environmental changes, particularly climatic ones. We have to alter the whole path of our development and decision making in order to make our societies both environmentally adaptable and sustainable. This unit takes on the task of trying to chart some of the ways in which this might come about. The context for these changes by g
3.1 Greenland's snowfall Greenland snowfall differs depending on whether it falls in summer (when snow is comparatively warm and moist) or winter (when snow is cold and dry). These differences mean that as the snow is turned to ice, annual layers are formed that are in many ways similar to tree rings: thick annual layers mean high snowfall and thin annual layers low snowfall. The accumulation of snowfall on the summit of Greenland – and most importantly what is trapped within the crystals as it turns to ice – can
6.2 The role of individuals and households You've been considering how to reduce your own carbon footprint to help tackle the worst effects of climate and other environmental changes. To that extent, ‘I’ as an individual consumer has a role to play. But unless you live alone, you share your household with other people, a group that could be called ‘we’. Everyone in the household may have similar views on living lightly. But, even within a household, there may be different views and priorities about what, if anything, sho
6.1 ‘I’, ‘we’ or ‘they’? We must abandon the conceit that individual, isolated, private actions are the answer. They can and do help. But they will not take us far enough without collective action. (Al Gore, 2007) There are some things that we can do as individuals: making this an energy-efficient house and making smart transport choices. Then there a 5.2 Lighter living costs and constraints The costs of ‘light living’ actions need, of course, also to be considered. Some actions involve no cost or save money, for example, less flying, shopping or meat eating, or can even make money, such as letting out a spare room to increase household occupancy. Others are low cost with a rapid payback time; for example, replacing an incandescent light bulb with a low-energy compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) should pay back the new lamp's cost in lower electricity bills in about 4.3 Technical and behavioural actions The numbers generated by the carbon calculator use a computer model based on some of the best information available. However, as I mentioned earlier, the results are not exact because calculators typically require you to enter broad categories of information about yourself and your household. And there are always uncertainties about some of the data on which the calculator is based. Nevertheless, the calculator allows you to explore the important actions needed to lighten your carbon load and 2.2.2 Including other greenhouse gases The above calculations count only carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use. But as you've seen, other greenhouse gases, especially methane and nitrous oxide converted into their CO2 equivalents, should be included in the carbon footprint. This means that the above calculations underestimate the carbon footprint, especially of food supply, which generates large amounts of methane. The most thorough attempt to include other greenhouse gases, as well as imports and exports, in the ca 2.5.1 Physical and weather-related indicators The indicators collected in Table 4 have been observed to change over large regions of the Earth during the 20th century. According to the TAR, there is now a good level of confidence that what is being recorded is the result of long-term change rather than short-term natural fluctuations. As we noted earlier (Section 2.2.2), the most recent period of warming has been almost global in extent, but particularly marked at high latitudes. So are the changes in Table 4 consistent with rising tempe 2.2.2 Temperature changes over the past millennium One of the most striking images in the IPCC TAR is reproduced (in adapted form) in Figure 24. Together, these two temperature records tell a compelling story, crystallised in our earlier quotes from the SPM. So let's just pause to take a closer look at each of them. Introduction This unit explores the topic of climate change and global warming. We will begin by exploring how the Earth’s global mean surface temperature is determined through a global “balancing act” of the rate of energy that comes from the Sun and the rate at which the planet returns that energy into space. We will also discuss the natural greenhouse effect, and how this contributes to a balanced global climate. We will then go on to consider the human impact on the atmosphere, including the imp 1.3 Framing nature matters as systems Much of what is considered Nature is often codified as ‘systems’ – natural systems, ecosystems, ecological systems and/or environmental systems. Systems thinking is an active cognitive endeavour to conceptually frame reality. A key feature of framing Nature in terms of systems is the appreciation given to the multiple interrelationships and interdependencies that exist in the natural world. The Thing – that is, the repercussions of the eighteenth-century European industri 1.3.7 Corporate connections continued One issue that might be added by a workers' organisation or trade union, for instance, might be that of freedom of association and the right of workers to organise. Another might be the right to collective bargaining. In fact, the coverage of the codes of conduct vary considerably depending on who instigated the code and the parties involved (Pearson and Seyfang, 2001). Most codes of conduct, it seems, are top-down affairs, drawn up by the companies involved or by trade associations. Some hav 1.2.3 Activity 2 Before you read on, I would like you to dwell for just a moment on the significance of this shift from direct investment by Western firms to the establishment of subcontracting ties with overseas partners. Aside from outside firms being able to p 1.1.2 Activity 1 You have already glanced at Figure 1 and some of the worki 6.6.1 The Royal Commission on environmental pollution scenarios The UK's Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution produced (RCEP) its 22nd report Energy: the Changing Climate in June 2000. The Commission examined what changes would be needed in Britain's energy systems if, as suggested by the various reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2001), it should prove necessary to reduce the country's emissions of greenhouse gases by about 60 per cent by 2050. The Commission investigated the various possibilities very tho 3.1 Introduction So what are the principal energy systems used by humanity at present, and how sustainable are they? Until quite recently, human energy requirements were modest and our supplies came either from harnessing natural processes such as the growth of plants, which provided wood for heating and food to energise human or animal muscles, or from the power of water and wind, used to drive simple machinery.
