"It is simplistic and defeatist to deny the threat of climate change. Yes, it is complicated both to understand and to accept, and the easiest answer is to avoid the problem by denying its existence, or postpone its consideration, or leave it for the next generation. Excuses abound: too hard to do, too expensive, too disruptive to the status quo, too politically uncomfortable. The externalities of climate change are real and dangerous. The hard question is: are we too cowardly and too irresponsible to confront them?"
~ From World Ocean Radio: Externalities
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A Matter of Scale
About this episode: As the world population has grown, the demand for food has increased, technologies for more efficient harvest have evolved, and our natural systems have been exploited at ever-increasing scale. In this episode of World Ocean Radio we present a recent suggestion by Dr. Daniel Pauly of the
Sea Around Us Project which outlines a simple management plan that would solve the fisheries problem through an economic adjustment of scale.
The Chemical Ocean
About this episode: Toxic chemicals released into watersheds and waterways remain a persistent problem despite the sounding of alarms, which for decades have railed against the uncontrolled use of fertilizers and pesticides. Today, the issue is as pervasive and as threatening as ever. In this episode of World Ocean Radio we share research on international protections and management approaches and argue that despite best intentions, precautions against use and dispersal are limited, confused, mired in regulatory bureaucracy, and lacking in international consensus.
Climate Risk Management
About this episode: At a recent conference and planning workshop sponsored by the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, participants took part in a climate risk management exercise to define possible climate change scenarios. They were given lists of risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities as tools to imagine viable responses. In this episode of World Ocean Radio we describe the exercise and explain the scenarios and how they might be transformed and implemented as plans for action. And he argues that the need for risk management is necessary, regardless of the climate change debate.
Image Credit:
Joel Pett
Externalities
About this episode: Externality refers to a disconnected or unconsidered consequence. Hydrofracking, mountaintop removal, filled wetlands, carbon emissions, and plastic pollution are all examples of intrusion into natural systems where the full cost is not valued. In this episode of World Ocean Radio we discuss the real, various, and dangerous externalities of climate change and assert that to deny them is simplistic and defeatist.
