Pre-Class Preparation Pre-Class Preparation
Objectives
Class images
 | Forecasting by analogy: societal responses to regional climatic change. Includes quotes and summaries from Societal Responses to Regional Climate Change: Forecasting by Analogy, Michael H. Glantz, editor, Westview Press, Boulder, Co, 428 pp. and two case studies, |
| The Ogallala Aquifer Depletion and Changes in the Mississippi River System. (Glantz, Michael, ed., 1989: Forecasting by analogy: societal responses to regional climatic change. Summary Report, Environmental and Societal Impacts Group NCAR, 77 pp). |
Class Discussion
Summary prepared by: Noor Salem and Wess SassUnit Summary
The Reading material for this unit comes from Societal Responses to Regional Climate Change: Forecasting by Analogy, Michael H.
The purpose of Glantz's book is to examine the flexibility of societies at different levels when dealing with climate-related environmental changes. He uses irreversible environmental changes to examine how people have responded and used different societal mechanisms (local, state, national government; non-government organizations, etc.) to cope with the problem. He emphasized that by understanding these past events we can draw generalizations on how people will respond to regional climate change. The book gives case study examples, in one of the case studies, the author uses to compare future climate change with past environmental occurrences is the depletion of the Ogallala aquifer.
A second case study is provided by the changes in the Mississippi River system. The author discusses the fact that regional climatic changes are likely to result in social, environmental, and commercial changes in the inland waterway system in Mississippi. The author wonders to what extent will the past historical record serve as a reliable guide to the future with regard to large navigational systems as climate is changing? He quotes that until we know what a climate change will look like at the regional level, we may not be able to answer that question with a high degree of confidence. Roger A. Pielke, Jr. of the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group, National Center for Atmospheric Research and Daniel Sarewitz of the Center for Science, Policy, and Outcomes, Columbia University had co-authored a publication entitled "Winning and Losing the Global Warming Debate". They ask whether there are winners and losers in the global warming debate and offer recommendations to both scientists and policy makers on where we go from here.
Dialog Summary
The dialog for unit 13 discussed various issues of societal response to climate change, one student talked about the Pielke and Sarawietz article. The student expressed how he agrees with their idea that there is no real answer to the global warming issue and that acceptance might be the only solution for it.
Several students attempted to respond to the comment, one expressed that adaptation is indeed a sign of laziness and that we all need to deal with the problem in some way or another and we should all take full social responsibility to look for environmental solution. Other students expressed that they agree with the comment, they agreed that human beings do not have the power to control the environment. Some expressed that society's efforts to confront environmental problems is not even worthwhile. A student mentioned something about people in favor of environmental regulations as long as it not affect themselves personally (e.g. cost them more money, lose their jobs..etc)
Another student talked about advantages and disadvantages of using floodwalls to fight flooding. Some students said it was a good idea but other disagreed. Students also participated to provide more information about the Ogalla Aquifer by referring to different websites that others can access.
Post-Class Activities
 | Environmental and Societal Impact Group |
| Forecasting by Analogy: Notes from the 1995 CU-SeeMe interaction with Mickey Glantz |
| Wurbs, R. A. 1995: Water rights in Texas. Journal of Water Resouces Planning and Management, 121, 447-454. |
 | Center for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE) |
| Environment97, world's first environmental conference entirely on the Internet. |
| Environmental and Societal Impacts of Weather bibliography from the NCAR |
| Environmental Refugees and Ecological Restoration |
| Societal Aspects of Weather |
| Glantz, Michael H. ed., 1988: Societal Responses to Regional Climatic Change: Forecasting by Analogy. Westview Press, 428 pages. |
| Glantz, M. H., 1996: Currents of Change: El Nino's Impact on Climate and Society. Cambridge University Press. |
| CSERGE Publications |
