Week 1: Introduction to Global Change

Question 1

GLOBAL CHANGE

Answer 1

Definition: Human induced transformation of the global environment
(the result of human activities on the state of the environment)

Question 2

Environment

Answer 2

Definition: The complete range of external conditions, physical and biotic, in which an organism lives, including soil, water, climate and food supply. It includes social, cultural, and (for humans) economic and political considerations.
- We tend to see ourselves as detached from the environment, and that plays a part in the environmental conditions today

Question 3

GLOBAL ISSUES- EXAMPLES

Answer 3

• Global climate change: change in the concentration of the gases in the atmosphere, key player co2 which has increased by 40% since the industrial revolution
• Energy crisis: Fossil fuels are polluting and destructive, energy production counts towards 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions, we need an energy transition
• Population explosion: population growing at a rapid pace, cannot sustain this lifestyle
• Pollution: responsible for 9 million pre mature deaths in 2015, counts for 60 precent of them (asbestos, microplastics, plastic patch floating in the pacific)
• Loss of biodiversity: Mass extinctions, Implications for our food supply and security, lost 8 percent of our natural habitats, stability of ecosystem services
• Global inequality: wealthy 10 precent owns 80 precent of the worlds wealth, poor and marginalized are disproportionally effected
• World hunger: enough food, not evenly distributed, 2 billion people do not have access to safe and regular food, we are wasteful with food, since green revolution
• Depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer: Ozone layer protects us from the UV radiation from the sun, comes from aerosol cans etc., it is recovering (Montreal protocol)

Question 4

GLOBAL ISSUES- COMMON CHARACTERISTICS

Answer 4

• Have global or large-scale regional effects
• Are persistent (multi-generations)
• Can result in dramatic events or series of events that capture world-wide attention (heat waves, droughts, extreme weather events), can “wake people up” about these issues
• Have many moving parts that are interconnected and have complex interactions (challenging to isolate individual causes)
• Are interrelated to other global issues
• Have no simple solutions
• Need meaningful solutions based on interdisciplinary knowledge
• Expose the inter-dependence between countries and regions (actions or inactions of a country affect everyone else), need to come together as a global community to address these issues
• Require solutions that include trade offs and compromises
• Challenge the status quo in world order and global institutions

Question 5

Institutions

Answer 5

Definition: Elemental structures required for the functioning of a society. Institutions embody the particular sets of values, norms, and roles that a particular society believes to be essential for its continued existence.
Examples
governance, the law and politics
The rules of economy and work
How education is structured
The role of the arts in society
- Our survival as a species depends on solving these problems!

Question 6

TAKE HOME MESSAGES
- Know the definitions of ‘global change’, ‘environment’ and ‘institutions’
- List the common characteristics of global issues
- Understand the need for an interdisciplinary approach that considers both the natural system and people for addressing global issues.
- Solutions will require us to challenge the status quo