Cool Heads for a Hot World – Social Sciences Under a Changing Sky

Global Environmental Change 22(2):329-331, May 2012

Posted: 29 Mar 2013

See all articles by Ben Orlove

Ben Orlove

Columbia University

Arun Agrawal

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Maria C. Lemos

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - School of Natural Resources & Environment

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

Three decades of debates related to the urgency of climate change and the dearth of preventive and effective action to adapt to these changes have led to a growing recognition of the need for social-scientific analyses to inform public opinion, motivate decisions, and strengthen climate adaptive and mitigative capacities (IPCC, 2009; Stern, 2007; World Bank, 2010). Researchers and decision makers have come to accept that the ensemble of problems associated with a changing climate cannot be understood, analyzed, or addressed without the vital contributions of the social sciences. The heterogeneity and contested nature of climate stresses for different groups and ecosystems, debates about how to understand and communicate risks and threats associated with climate change, and the need for multiple stakeholders to join forces to craft effective responses highlight the unusually important role of social science in the analyses of climate change and potential responses to climate threats (Adger and Barnett, 2009).

Suggested Citation

Orlove, Ben and Agrawal, Arun and Lemos, Maria C., Cool Heads for a Hot World – Social Sciences Under a Changing Sky (2012). Global Environmental Change 22(2):329-331, May 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2240458

Ben Orlove (Contact Author)

Columbia University ( email )

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+1 (212) 854 1543 (Phone)

Arun Agrawal

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor ( email )

500 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
United States

Maria C. Lemos

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - School of Natural Resources & Environment ( email )

440 Church St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
United States

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