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ES118 Environment and Society
ES 118
Environment and Society
Setting the Context:
What are the Trends?
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Diminishing Availability
of Water and Agricultural
Land
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The Oil Peak
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Collapsing Fisheries
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Shrinking Forests
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Loss of Biodiversity
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Climate Change
Climate Change:
The Evidence
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Today is Colby’s “ Focus the Nation” day
The latest IPCC report states that the evidence
is now clear that the climate is changing and
humans are responsible.
Some evidence of warming is already evident
(glaciers melting, earlier ice outs, ecosystem
changes).
Climate Change:
the Implications
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The fossil-fuel energy sources that currently drive our
economy emit greenhouse gases (primarily carbon)
when combusted.
The models that estimate future impacts suggest the
likelihood of very large negative impacts (sea level
rise, storm surges, spread of disease, ecosystem
changes, etc)
Changing those outcomes means changing the way
we have historically improved well-being.
This makes climate change politically very
controversial.
An Alternative View
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“We ought not punish ourselves in
shame. We ought to be pleased that
we have thrown off so many of
humanity’s yokes and made possible
fantastic progress in terms of
prosperity. And we ought to face the
facts - that on the whole we have no
reason to expect that progress will not
continue.
This is the real state of the world.”
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Bjørn Lomberg (p. 330)
A Sense of History
How did we get into this predicament?
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Hunter/Gatherers
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The First Agricultural Revolution
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The Industrial Revolution
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The Second Agricultural Revolution
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The Consequences
Environment and Society
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Why “Environment
and Society”?
Behavioral Sources
of Degradation
Mark Hertsgaard’s
“Earth Odyssey”
The Dilemma
 Need to increase the standard of living
among the poorest nations and people.
 Yet the traditional model of
development puts excessive stress on
the environment, thereby undermining
the process.
 As described by Thomas Friedman in his new book
the meteoric rise of India and China are the testing
grounds for these concerns.
 How can this dilemma be resolved?
Sustainable Development:
The Origins
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Our Common Future (1987)
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Nations must work together to solve
global environmental problems.
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This new approach, which involves
raising living standards for the poor
while protecting and enhancing the
environment, is called sustainable
development.
Sustainable Development:
The Definition
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“Sustainable development seeks to meet
the aspirations and the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.”
Overarching Questions
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Is the predominant economic system (capitalism)
compatible with sustainable development?
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Is democracy compatible with sustainable development?
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What role does globalization play in the quest for
sustainable development?
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Elizabeth Kolbert concluded her series in the New Yorker
magazine on climate change with: "It may seem
impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced
society could choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that
is what we are now in the process of doing.” Is she right?
Societal Resilience
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Diamond’s focal
question: Why did some
societies overcome
resource scarcity while
others succumbed?
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His approach: case study
method using historical
examples
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His findings:
(1) Information
(2) Incentives
(3) Values
The Course
Overarching Themes
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Evidence over
opinion.
Behavioral Sources
of Environmental
Degradation:
Values
 Information
 Incentives
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The Computer Connection
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ES 118 Web page
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Download syllabus
Download lecture outlines
Announcements
Web sources
http://www.colby.edu/environ/ES118/ES118.html
Meet the Faculty
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Prof. Kabiri Ngeta, Government and Environmental
Studies
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Prof. Philip Nyhus, Environmental Studies
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Prof. Tom Tietenberg, Economics and former
Director of Environmental Studies
Characteristics of the Course
Introductory
Solutions Oriented
Multiple Perspectives
Survey
Active Learning
Writing and Speaking Components
Course Format
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Mondays and Wednesdays we will have all-course
lectures in this room.
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Thursday nights we will have presentations on
research methods in this same room.
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On Fridays in the individual section rooms we will
have small group discussions. These sessions will be
an opportunity for you to clarify issues, to raise
alternative points of view, and to delve into some of
the leading questions that the faculty will put before
you.
Research Projects
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Designed to allow you to be actively involved in learning
about a specific topic.
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Thursday night sessions will lead you step-by-step through
the research process. We will discuss finding researchable
topics, formulating testable hypotheses, analytical
approaches, research design, how to use evidence, etc. These
session are generally timed to help you with the next step in
your research process.
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Some work sessions. (Good time for group to meet.)
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Presentations during the last week. Run like a professional
conference. Four days of presentations. Your group presents
on one day and you attend presentations by others on the
other three days. You choose the session you want to hear.
The Syllabus
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Readings
Grading
Deadlines
Content
Download it
from the web
http://www.colby.edu/environ/courses/ES118/ES118.html
The Readings
The Text
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Used for basic
background
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Note Glossary
in back
The E-Reader
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Selected readings from the literature to enrich
the text and lectures.
Electronically available from the web.
Type “ES118” into the reserves search box on
http://www.colby.edu/library/
Issues for Discussion
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Controversial issues with
two opposing experts
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Useful point of departure
for some class
discussions on Friday
Some Final Details
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Please make sure you have signed the attendance
sheet.
If you would like to be placed our the weekly email
list for the ES program (speakers, internships, job
opportunities), please email Beth Kopp at
[email protected] and ask to be put on the ES
Newsletter list.
Can get daily environmental news from around the
world if interested for free from any Colby computer,
for example: http://www.greenwire.com