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Part D Summary
In this section, you will discover how ideas and methods from science and management can be applied to practical problem-solving situations. Four different types of resources or environments are considered in the following chapters. The first, addressed in Chapter 8, is the atmospheric system, with emphasis on climate change. The second, the focus of Chapters 9 to 12, comprises various renewable resources—oceans, forestry, agriculture, and water systems. The third type, considered in Chapter 13, deals with non-renewable resources—minerals and fossil fuels that are created (or renewed) over a geological time span rather than human lifespans. The fourth type, place-based issues, focuses on the environmental opportunities and challenges in urban areas (Chapter 14) and on endangered species and protected areas (Chapter 15).
The text focuses on how science can be best used to inform analysis and management, and how elements of best practice in management have been, or could be, applied. Case studies are used to provide opportunities to learn about how science and management can be connected, raise fundamental questions about humans’ relationships with the environment, and illustrate how pervasive conflict can be in resource and environmental management. Through the mix of case studies and examples in this section, the text aims to help you appreciate that change, complexity, uncertainty, conflict, and intractability are integral parts of resource and environmental management.
Chapter Summary
After examining the nature of climate change, Chapter 8 turns to assessing the scientific evidence related to climate change with a focus on warming, greenhouse gas emissions, glacial ice and snow cover, and sea level rise. The role of climate models in aiding our understanding of changes is discussed. More specifically, the implications of climate change in Canada are explored, particularly in terms of terrestrial systems, agriculture, marine and freshwater systems, cryosphere, ocean and coastal systems, and health and infectious disease. This chapter addresses the challenges encountered by researchers when they seek to communicate scientific insight about climate change to policy-makers and the general public. These challenges are discussed with a focus on communicating with climate change deniers. Finally, responses to climate change are examined, including mitigation (through strategies such as carbon taxes, cap-and-trade systems, carbon sequestration, new technologies, and geo-engineering) and adaptation. This chapter also examines international climate policy and actions, such as the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement, and Canada’s domestic approach to climate change, highlighting both federal and provincial responses.
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
- Differentiate between weather and climate
- Discriminate between climate change and global warming
- Discuss why the science of climate change is characterized by complexity and uncertainty
- Describe the nature of scientiļ¬c evidence and explanation for climate change
- Outline the implications of climate change for natural and human systems
- Demonstrate the challenges of sharing information and insight related to climate change
- Identify the strategies and tactics of “climate change deniers”
- Illustrate the importance of including both mitigation and adaptation in a strategy for reducing vulnerability to climate change
- Discuss the implications of “geo-engineering” initiatives related to climate change
- Discuss international climate negotiations and the history of climate agreements, especially the Paris Agreement
- Describe Canada’s role in the global context as a contributor to both climate change challenges and solutions
- Identify what you can do as an individual to minimize the impact of climate change