2 results
9 - Attitudes toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions from local places
-
- By Susan L. Cutter, Carolina Distinguished Professor University of South Carolina, Jerry T. Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Geography Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Arleen A. Hill, Department of Geography and research assistant University of South Carolina, Lisa M. B. Harrington, Associate Professor of Geography Kansas State University, Sylvia-Linda Kaktins, Doctoral candidate Kansas State University, William A. Muraco, Research Professor & Professor Emeritus University of Toledo, Jennifer DeHart, Doctoral candidate Department of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Audrey Reynolds, University of Texas, Austin, Robin Shudak, Special Assistant to the Program Director Environmental Protection Agency's Energy State Program
- Association of American Geographers GCLP Research Team
-
- Book:
- Global Change and Local Places
- Published online:
- 31 July 2009
- Print publication:
- 26 June 2003, pp 171-191
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Greenhouse gas emissions arise from the acts of people in their local environments, and the sources of greenhouse gases and the driving forces behind their emissions are as varied as the localities included in the Global Change and Local Places project. These different mixes of emission sources and driving forces produce a range of local vulnerabilities, including different perceptions of the magnitude and nature of the problem, and different potential solutions. In order to reduce these emissions, a one-size-fits-all strategy may not work. Instead, analysts and policy makers may be faced with multi-faceted solutions that require an understanding of the dimensions of local vulnerabilities as well as local opportunities for prevention or reduction of emissions. These opportunities may not be realized, in large part because of differing perceptions of risks to different localities. Not only are there perceptual differences on the issue within and among economic sectors and governments, but there is also a significant degree of public indifference to the issue at local, state, and national levels.
Perceptions of climate change: thinking globally and mitigating locally?
Both lay and expert perceptions lead to different evaluations of the nature, extent, and scientific certainty regarding the existence or probability of climate change and its possible impacts (Redclift 1998; Stehr and von Storch 1995). These perceptions are often framed within highly localized sociocultural or sociopolitical contexts, which undoubtedly vary from place to place. In the same way, the willingness of local residents, industries, and businesses to reduce emissions may vary among places.
10 - Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: learning from local analogs
-
- By C. Gregory Knight, Professor of Geography Pennsylvania State University, Susan L. Cutter, Carolina Distinhuished Professor University of South Carolina, Jennifer DeHart, Doctoral candidate Department of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Andrea S. Denny, Environmental Protection Specialist in the State and Local Climate Change Program United States Environmental Protection Agency, David G. Howard, Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning University of Toledo, Sylvia-Linda Kaktins, Doctoral candidate Kansas State University, David E. Kromm, Professor Emeritus of Geography Kansas State University, Stephen E. White, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Kansas State University, Brent Yarnal, Professor of Geography and Director of the Center for Integrated Assessment Pennsylvania State University
- Association of American Geographers GCLP Research Team
-
- Book:
- Global Change and Local Places
- Published online:
- 31 July 2009
- Print publication:
- 26 June 2003, pp 192-214
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Global change is rooted in localities. The impacts of global warming, as well as adaptations to warming and attempts to ameliorate it, will occur in communities at local and regional scales. In some respects global climate change is analogous to other societal dilemmas. Local communities contribute to large, intractable problems; local initiatives may arise in the absence of larger efforts to address the problems; and localities grapple with policies and regulations imposed upon them from afar. Within each Global Change and Local Places study area, there are human–environment analogs that yield insights into how greenhouse gas mitigation could proceed at locality scale.
Earlier chapters have documented the import of understanding the driving forces that generate regional greenhouse gas emissions, tracked changes in emissions through time, and assessed greenhouse gas abatement potentials in the Global Change and Local Places study areas. Examining the structures and dynamics of societal attempts to mitigate threats analogous to global warming offers fresh insights for science and policy formulation. Whereas prior work has focused on using analogs to anticipate impacts and adaptation, this chapter emphasizes analogy to understand mitigation processes. For purposes of this analysis, adaptation denotes the array of societal coping responses to an environmental threat such as climate change. Mitigation means efforts to abate the threat itself, such as limiting the release of greenhouse gases or acting to absorb them.