Thomas Neil GladwinTom Gladwin's Page

Email: tgladwin@umich.edu

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Link to: Notes from Meeting with Tom Gladwin, Ben and Lesley

Below are rough outlines of ten potential chapters that might be appropriate if we decide to seriously:

1) connect global change to sustainable development,

2) utilize a systems thinking approach thoughout the text, and

3) truly wish to differentiate ourselves from the competition by devoting considerably more attention to the socio-economic dimensions of global change.

Their are obviously pros and cons to each of these three propositions which we must collectively debate!

Tom

 

Link to: Potential Gladwin Chapters (Word Document)

 

POTENTIAL GLADWIN (or CO-AUTHORED) CHAPTERS

 

     1. GLOBAL CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Purpose: To set forth the overarching conceptual framework for the text.

What is global change? Major human causes, consequences, responses to global change.  Underlying social processes and dynamics connecting humans to global change. The pressure-state-feedback-filters-societal response model. I=PxAxT (human footprint a joint function of population, affluence and technology. Natural system and social system health/resilience/integrity.  Life support services of natural and social systems.  Patterns of economic/material/energy growth. Assessing carrying capacity. Indicators of stress and decline.  The big idea of sustainable human development. Harmonizing human activity with healthy natural systems and social justice.  Principles of sustainability.  What do we owe the rest of nature, the currently impoverished and future generations? What is producing unsustainability? Exponential growth, overshoot and collapse. The Millenium Development Goals.  The Stockholm, Rio and Joahannesburg Summits.  Sustainable Science.  Transitions toward sustainability. This text…..

 

     2. THINKING AND LEARNING ABOUT GLOBAL CHANGE

Purpose: To orient the student to the perceptual, cognitive and emotional challenges associated with learning about global environmental and social change.

Coping with Complexity (dynamism, nonlinearity, emergence, holism). Coping with Globality (distance, interdependence, loose feedback, huge scales).  Coping with Posterity (slow motion trends, exponentials, discounting, coevolution).  Coping with Finitude (commons, no “aways,” carrying capacity, overshoot).  Coping with Uncertainty (unpredictability, surprises, synergisms, irreversibilities).  Coping with Morality (justice/equity, duties/obligations, right/wrong, compassion).  Coping with Anxiety and Fear (human suffering, decline of nature, insecurity, negative trends).  Connecting Global Change to individual behavior. Thinking and acting globally and locally.  The necessity of foresight and “what-ifing.”  Using multiple scenarios.  Worldview Survey.  Cultivating imagination, intuition, mindfulness, self-awareness and social responsibility. Global Change and post-normal science.

 

  1. THE SYSTEMS THINKING APPROACH TO GLOBAL CHANGE

Purpose: To introduce the student to the basics of system dynamics and thinking which would be employed throughout the entire text.

Character and dynamics of complex adaptive systems. Shifting attention from events to patterns, systemic structures and mental models.  Dynamic vs. static thinking. System-as-cause vs. system-as-effect thinking.  Forest vs. tree-by-tree thinking.  Operational vs. factors thinking. Closed-loop vs. straight-line thinking. Quantitative vs. measurement thinking. Scientific vs. proving-truth thinking. Systems thinking tools: behavior over-time diagrams, causal loop diagrams, system archetypes, computer modeling. Tragedies of the global commons.  Negative and positive feedback loops. Role of feedback and response delays.  System patterns: exponential growth, goal-seeking, oscillation, S-shaped growth, overshoot and collapse. Intervening in systems.  Counterintuitive system effects.  Policy resistance. Benefits of systems thinking.  Why so critical to understanding global change?  Practicing systems thinking (mini-cases such as population-poverty-environment).

  1. EXPLORING THE ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF GLOBAL CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Purpose: To enable the student to explore the philosophical, moral and spiritual aspects of global change and sustainable development.

Global change and the grand questions of moral philosophy.  Why global change is a “morally thick” and controversial subject.  Who is causing and who is getting hurt by global change? What do the winners owe the losers? Intragenerational vs. intergenerational vs. interspecies justice.  Different approaches to ethical reasoning, e.g., utilitarian vs. formalist. Ethical Aptitude Survey. Coping with ethical dilemmas. Stages of moral reasoning. Are there “moral minimums?”  The Earth Charter.  Approaching global change and sustainable development from the standpoint of human rights.  Caring as a foundation of learning.  Anthropocentrism vs. biocentrism.  What is the role for spirituality?  What do the world’s religions tell us about global change and sustainability?  How handle international pluralism vs. universalism?  Is a global ethic of sustainability possible?

 

  1. EXAMINING THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN GLOBAL CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Purpose: To explore the roles of science and technology in the origins of global change and sustainability challenges and to the prospects for intelligently and effectively dealing with them.

The meaning and impacts of technology.  History of technological revolutions. Global patterns of R&D, patents, national scientific capacities, technological innovation and diffusion.  Negative and positive consequences of technology in relation to resource extraction and productivity; production and consumption activity; empowerment of the poor; substituting information and services for energy, materials and products; design of human settlements and mobility patterns; etc. The dynamics of technological change. The global information revolution and the digital divide.  Technological leapfrogging by developing countries.  The ingenuity gap and sustainability.  Hopes and fears about biotechnology and nanotechnology.  Role of technology in the eco-industrial revolution.  Shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The precautionary principle.  Interaction of technology with markets and regulations.  Can technology alone save us?

 

  1. CONNECTING GLOBAL CHANGE WITH HUMAN VIOLENCE AND 

INSECURITY

Purpose:  To assess the incidence, causes, and consequences of violence and insecurity around the globe and policy responses to that violence.

Connecting violence to underdevelopment and bad governance.  Root causes of contemporary violence, i.e., armed conflict, civil war, genocide, terrorism.  Patterns of conflict over time and space. Connecting environmental scarcity and human conflict (especially freshwater).  Conflicts for grievances vs. greed (rebel access to diamonds, minerals, oil, etc.).  World military spending trends.  The costs of conflict.  Effects of economic sanctions.  Population growth and political conflict. Poverty and armed conflict.  Shifting from national security to human security.  Charting hatred in the world.  The anatomy of resource conflicts.  Breaking the conflict traps. Peacekeeping and interventions.  Environmental and economic refugees.  Ethnic tensions and fractionalization.  The “clash of civilizations.”  Peace Dividend? Arms race and proliferation.  Prospects for conflict ahead.  Laying the foundations for peace.

 

  1. THE ROLE OF ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND  SOCIAL CHANGE

Purpose: To explore the genesis, structure, dynamics and consequences of economic globalization in relation to nature, society and sustainability.

History of economic globalization.  Understanding the capitalist system.  Patterns of foreign direct investment and international trade.  The growth and power of multinational corporations.  Mapping global flows and networks.  Appraising the economic, social, political and environmental consequences of globalization.  The spread of “McWorld” and overconsumption.  Quiz on multinationals.  Global financial markets and instabilities.  The global criminal economy.  Understanding investment climates and risk analysis.  The bypassing of poor countries.  Who wins and loses from economic globalization? Understanding the anti-globalization movement.  The global debt burden.  The new world economy (hypercompetitive and knowledge-intensive). Outsourcing of jobs.  Distancing of consumption from production.  The commodification of nature.  The role of the World Bank, IMF, WTO, etc.  The corporate social responsibility movement and impact. Case study: The Future of China.

 

  1. PATTERNS AND CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL INCOME AND GENDER  INEQUALITY

Purpose:  To explore the causes and consequences of global rich-poor, North-South, male-female inequalities in relation to global change and prospects for sustainable development.

The history of inequality on this planet.  Recent patterns of income and consumption inequality across and within nations.  Ecological Footprint data and trends.  The complex causes of inequality: exploring the roles of technology, education, exclusion, trade, etc.  Exploring the “Success to the Successful” incentive structure of the world economy.  The costs and risks of growing inequality.  Felt “relative deprivation” and human conflict. Case study: The inequities of climate change.  The tidal wave of migration.  The ethics of equity and equality.  Gender inequality in rights, resources and voice.  Why does gender inequality persist? What are the costs of gender inequality in terms of well-being, productivity, growth and governance.  Patterns of gender inequality around the world.  The payoff for women’s rights.  Women, concern for the future and concern for nature.

 

  1. LINKING HUMAN HEALTH TO GLOBAL CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Purpose:  To explore the consequences of global environmental and social change for public human health.

What is health?  The interactions of ecosystem, public and economic health.  Patterns of human health over time and space.  The “epidemiological transition.”  Data on life expectancy, maternal health, child mortality, infectious diseases, etc.  Connecting poverty to the burden of disease. Connecting overconsumption to disease (obesity).  Appraising basic health care services around the world.  Health care spending and effectiveness among nations.  Coping with “syndemics.”  Case study: The HIV/AIDS crisis.  Climate change, disease vectors and human health.  Rising drug resistance.  The role of nutrition in health.  Co-evolution of humans and microbes.  Medical R&D focus on diseases of affluence vs. poverty.  Economic benefits of improved health.  Case study: Transportation and Human Health.  The ecological and human health consequences of meat consumption.  Resurgence of infectious diseases?  Forecasts for the future.

 

  1. THE GOVERNANCE OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL

CHANGE, PAST AND FUTURE

Purpose:  To explore patterns of national and international governance in relation to effectively managing global change and promoting transitions toward sustainability.

History of national and international governance.  Trends in political rights and civil liberties.  The shift toward (illiberal) democracy.  The course of human freedom.  The struggling nation state.  Impact of economic globalization on the power of governments.  The effects of governmental and corporate corruption.  National corruption ratings.  The promotion of democracy.  The dark side of democracy.  Failures of global governance.  Governance in a networked world.  The rise of civil society.  Reshaping global governance to manage global change.  The potential of partnerships among governments, ngos and corporations.  Global issue networks.  Managing the commons.  Case study: the collapse of oceanic fisheries.  The role of voluntary corporate responsibility.  How democratize global governance?  Case study: The failure of Kyoto. The power of educated and engaged citizens.  What can one person do?