Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 13
facing science and society
Carol Turley and Kelvin Boot
13.1 Introduction
Substantial proportions of nations' gross domes-
tic product (GDP) were used to secure the banks
and major industries in the economic crises that
have swept the world in the last few years, far
greater than the 1 to 2% per annum estimated to be
required to mitigate climate change (Stern 2006).
However, the response to the economic crisis does
show that global society can react rapidly when it
believes it is necessary. The question is, when do
society and governments deem it necessary to act,
and to act together? One issue may be time, the per-
ceived immediacy of the crisis. While the economic
crisis of 2007 to the present came upon us quickly
and globally, climate change and ocean acidii cation
have a stealth that does not perhaps attract public
and government concern so immediately. Rather,
they are perceived to be something to worry about
in the far future, at least beyond the political cycles
of governments, if at all.
Despite all the scientii c evidence gathered and
assimilated through collaboration across discipli-
nary and territorial borders, and all the political
effort at the climate change negotiations, there is
not yet a global treaty on emissions reductions. The
scientii c evidence is strong (IPCC 2007), the risks
are high, and there is belief in many sectors that the
need for action is increasingly urgent. The future of
the planet as we know it and the lives of the mil-
lions who are supported by the earth's biosphere
are greatly inl uenced by politics and economics.
Ocean acidii cation and its potential risks are fur-
ther factors supporting actions for CO
2
emissions
reduction (see Chapter 14 ; Turley and Findlay 2009 ).
However, politicians use multiple inputs in deci-
sion-making, scientii c evidence being just one of
them. The role of scientists is to build the strength of
Human development, inspiration, invention, and
aspiration have resulted in a rapidly growing popu-
lation, with each generation aspiring to greater
wealth and well-being, so having greater needs
than the previous generation (Fig. 13.1). Amongst
the resulting negative impacts are over-exploitation
of planetary resources and the build-up of gases in
the atmosphere and oceans to the extent that they
are changing earth's climate and ocean chemistry
( IPCC 2007 ).
However, the history of humanity's relationship
to the environment has shown that, if threatened,
society can respond rapidly to environmental risks,
introducing better practices, controls, regulations,
and even global protocols, for example the reduc-
tion of city smog, the move from leaded to unleaded
petrol, and reduction of chlorol uorocarbon (CFC)
production to reduce loss of the ozone layer. Nearly
all of these changes have led to direct and obvious
positive gain to human health and well-being which
has been a driving force in the production, agree-
ment and implementation of the policies and laws
that have brought them about. The spatial scale or
'ecological footprint' of these risks has increased
with time, such that international agreements and
protocols, like the Montreal Protocol for CFCs, have
been increasingly necessary for reducing them.
Along with the globalization of agriculture, busi-
ness, industry, and i nancial markets and the expan-
sion of the human population goes the globalization
of risk to the environment. Climate change and
ocean acidii cation are global issues with solutions
that are only possible through global agreements
and action.
249
