Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

2 INTERACTIONS: DEFINING THE PROBLEMS
Pages 8-15

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 8...
... Project team members Joseph Herkert at the Arizona State University School of Applied Arts and Sciences and Jason Delborne, CSM Liberal Arts and International Studies, provided overarching observations about the presentations, focusing on their implications for building a network and improving educational efforts and outcomes.5 Science Perspectives James McCarthy, professor of biological oceanography at Harvard University, reviewed the evolution of climate science from 1980 to 2010, demonstrating that although the evidence for global warming has been increasing for many years (Figure 2-1) , it has not translated into effective action.
From page 9...
... , transportation, and individual and organizational behaviors focuses attention on economic gains and savings from energy efficiency. This composite perspective also reveals the impact of climate change on the availability of resources, such as the bio-based products that will be needed to feed a much larger middle class living in cities; Golden calls this perspective sociometabolic consumption.6 Engineers will have to work with industry, government, and nonprofit organizations to address these problems, he said.
From page 10...
... He noted the models at his university of a certificate program in engineered systems and sustainability, and sustainable energy fellowships linking theoretical with hands-on experience and examination of the political, economic, and social realities underlying sociotechnical change. Public Perspectives Ann Bostrom, dean of research and professor at the University of Washington School of Public Affairs, addressed three issues associated with public trust and engagement: (1)
From page 11...
... Bostrom and other researchers have developed mental models of how people think about hazardous processes and the systems such processes interact with, and how they understand causal processes. People tend to think of causal processes using metaphor and analogy, so they are heavily influenced by how the problem is framed and the analogies used.
From page 12...
... There's a big difference between getting public cooperation to follow expert advice, cooperation between experts and the public to make decisions together, and cooperation based on a more systematic and deliberative democratic process. It is also necessary to recognize the tension between lay and expert perspectives: people in general offer confused interpretations of technical information, whereas engineers 12
From page 13...
... Herkert cited the Golden talk as a good example of how to convey the notion to engineers. Further Perspectives on Interactions: The National Climate Assessment, Regional Impacts of Climate Change, and Infrastructure Four talks at the capstone workshop focused on the findings of the National Climate Assessment, the implications of regional climate change given high climate variability, and strengths and weaknesses in interconnected infrastructures.7 Kathy Jacobs, assistant director for climate adaptation and assessment, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, opened with a presentation titled "Engineering, Adaptation, and the National Climate Assessment." She discussed the challenges of climate change for engineered systems, the recent draft National Climate Assessment (ncadac.globalchange.gov)
From page 14...
... Risks of disruptive impact can be substantially reduced, he explained, by developing and implementing appropriate adaptation strategies based on information such as standards, codes, certification programs, and other practices that set rules for infrastructure; partnerships between the public and private sector; special attention to infrastructure that is near the end of its lifetime or performing poorly; and leadership and effective governance. Other elements of adaptation strategies often include the bundling of climate change responses with other development and sustainability issues, attention to financing, and efforts to spur innovation.
From page 15...
... The UK in 2005 issued guidance stating that the government will act proportionately and consistently in dealing with risks to the public, basing all decisions about risks on what best serves the public interest, with actions to be taken proportionate to the level of protection needed and targeted to the risk.8 The Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington DC issued a statement on September 16, 2008 indicating that the government had established an independent committee to issue advice as to how to improve the flood protection levels of all diked areas by a factor of 10 before 2050. In Summary Sessions in the first and capstone workshops of this Climate Change Educational Partnership Phase I project focused on examining the interactions between the phenomena from which the project took its name - "Climate Change, Engineered Systems, and Society." The presentations and discussions summarized here illuminated the nature and complexity of climate, engineered systems, and society as a sociotechnical system and discussed their implications for enhancing the network and educational reforms.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.