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This anthology of scholarly essays on climate change, sustainable development, and human security presents a comprehensive analysis of severe global warming and its potential to impact all aspects of human life and security. It has been observed that climate change will most drastically impact poor tropical regions of the world for various reasons. The main focus of this collection of essays is to analyze the pro and cons of the global warming and climate change debate among scholars, policymakers, and scientists, as well as to examine the potential adverse impact of global warming/climate change on social and economic development and human security (food, health, immigration etc.). Much controversy exists on the topic, and many scientific reports issued by think tanks, United Nations, groups of scientists, NGOs, environmentalists, and policymakers are concerned about it. An extensive discussion and review of literature sets the tone and framework for the volume, and facilitates the volume’s analyses of the relationship between prevailing climate change/global warming models and their ability to provide us information on the topic. Exclusion of North America is deliberate; included are case studies from countries in Asia, Latin America, Europe, Russia and the Middle East.

Geopolitics and climate change now have immediate consequences for national and international security interests across the Arctic and Antarctic. The world’s polar regions are contested and strategically central to geopolitical rivalry. At the same time, rapid political, social, and environmental change presents unprecedented challenges for governance, environmental protection, and maritime operations in the regions. With chapters that raise awareness, address challenges, and inform policy options, Polar Cousins reviews the state of strategic thinking and options on Antarctica and the Southern Oceans in light of experience in the circumpolar North. Prioritizing strategic issues, it provides an essential discussion of geostrategic thinking, strategic policy, and strategy development. Featuring contributions from international defence experts, scientists, academics, policymakers, and decisionmakers, Polar Cousins offers key insights into the challenges unique to the polar regions.

Earth education is traditionally confined to specific topics: ecoliteracy, outdoor education, environmental science.But in the coming century, on track to be the warmest in human history, every aspect of human life will be affected by our changing planet.

Stunning satellite images of one hundred cities show our urbanizing planet in a new light to reveal the fragile relationship between humanity and EarthSeeing cities around the globe in their larger environmental contexts, we begin to understand how the world shapes urban landscapes and how urban landscapes shape the world. Authors Karen Seto and Meredith Reba provide these revealing views to enhance readers' understanding of the shape, growth, and life of urban settlements of all sizes-from the remote town of Namche Bazaar in Nepal to the vast metropolitan prefecture of Tokyo, Japan.Using satellite data, the authors show urban landscapes in new perspectives. The book's beautiful and surprising images pull back the veil on familiar scenes to highlight the growth of cities over time, the symbiosis between urban form and natural landscapes, and the vulnerabilities of cities to the effects of climate change. We see the growth of Las Vegas and Lagos, the importance of rivers to both connecting and dividing cities like Seoul and London, and the vulnerability of Fukushima and San Juan to floods from tsunami or hurricanes. The result is a compelling book that shows cities' relationships with geography, food, and society.

An eye-opening introduction to the complexity, wonder, and vital roles of coral reefs When mass coral bleaching and die'offs were first identified in the 1980s, and eventually linked to warming events, the scientific community was sure that such a dramatic and unambiguous signal would serve as a warning sign about the devastating effects of global warming. Instead, most people ignored that warning. Subsequent decades have witnessed yet more degradation. Reefs around the world have lost more than 50 percent of their living coral since the 1970s. In this book, distinguished marine ecologist Peter F. Sale imparts his passion for the unexpected beauty, complexity, and necessity of coral reefs. By placing reefs in the wider context of global climate change, Sale demonstrates how their decline is more than simply a one'off environmental tragedy, but rather an existential warning to humanity. He offers a reframing of the enormous challenge humanity faces as a noble venture to steer the planet into safe waters that might even retain some coral reefs.

Malaysia pledged to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 in relation to its 2005 GDP figure. The sectors listed as the main focus of this effort included: energy, industrial processes, waste, agriculture, land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF). Several initiatives under myriad governments have been launched to reduce Malaysia's climate change impacts; among those has been the emphasis on renewable energy (RE).Malaysia's current energy mix relies heavily on coal and natural gas. Long-entrenched subsidies on these energy sources, coupled with greatly depreciating prices make it difficult for new RE producers to enter the market and increase their market share. This is in spite of positive developments in RE infrastructure and reduced RE material costs.Solar, biogas, biomass and mini-hydro have been put forward as the RE sources with the most potential, but all have issues of consistency and reliability. Because small energy generators cannot guarantee infallible energy production, they may not be the most viable options for the long term. Their size also denies them the economies of scale that would reduce their costs. Instead, these higher costs may be transferred to the consumer.Other issues include the competition for land in the development of large-scale solar farms, including the possible loss of community farmlands and hence livelihoods, if not displacement. A push for biomass and biogas as a source of energy might also lead to increased oil palm production to meet the need for consistent supplies of oil palm waste. Biogas from municipal landfills is made even more challenging given that Malaysian municipal waste is not sorted at source.One possible solution is the use of hybrid RE in rural areas, comprising a mix of micro-hydro, solar and diesel-based energy generation as a back-up. However an immediate win is to ensure energy efficiency and public education to encourage emissions reduction and climate change impacts on the individual consumer.

The world is overheated. Too full and too fast; uneven and unequal. It is the age of the Anthropocene, of humanity’s indelible mark upon the planet. In short, it is globalisation - but not as we know it. In this groundbreaking book, Thomas Hylland Eriksen breathes new life into the discussion around global modernity, bringing an anthropologist’s approach to bear on the three interrelated crises of environment, economy and identity. He argues that although these crises are global in scope, they are perceived and responded to locally, and that contradictions abound between the standardising forces of information-age global capitalism and the socially embedded nature of people and local practices. Carefully synthesising the ethnographic and comparative methods of anthropology with macrosocial and historical material, Overheating offers an innovative new perspective on issues including energy use, urbanisation, deprivation, human (im)mobility, and the spread of interconnected, wireless information technology.