Edward A. Parson
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195155495
- eISBN:
- 9780199833955
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195155491.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Examines major changes in scientific understanding that followed the adoption of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 and the completion of the period of initial formation of the ozone protection regime. ...
More
Examines major changes in scientific understanding that followed the adoption of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 and the completion of the period of initial formation of the ozone protection regime. Returns to the two disturbing claims made in 1985 — extreme seasonal ozone loss in Antarctica, and large ozone loss worldwide — and traces their investigation over the following three years, their initial resolution in the year after the Protocol, and the consequences of their resolution in spreading calls to completely eliminate ozone‐depleting chemicals (chlorofluorohydrocarbons (CFCs)). The early development of the Protocol's expert assessment panels is also discussed; these are the centrepieces of the regime's structure to adapt to changing knowledge and capabilities.Less
Examines major changes in scientific understanding that followed the adoption of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 and the completion of the period of initial formation of the ozone protection regime. Returns to the two disturbing claims made in 1985 — extreme seasonal ozone loss in Antarctica, and large ozone loss worldwide — and traces their investigation over the following three years, their initial resolution in the year after the Protocol, and the consequences of their resolution in spreading calls to completely eliminate ozone‐depleting chemicals (chlorofluorohydrocarbons (CFCs)). The early development of the Protocol's expert assessment panels is also discussed; these are the centrepieces of the regime's structure to adapt to changing knowledge and capabilities.
Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231169547
- eISBN:
- 9780231537957
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231169547.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
The year is 2393, and the world is almost unrecognizable. Clear warnings of climate catastrophe went ignored for decades, leading to soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, widespread drought ...
More
The year is 2393, and the world is almost unrecognizable. Clear warnings of climate catastrophe went ignored for decades, leading to soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, widespread drought and—finally—the disaster now known as the Great Collapse of 2093, when the disintegration of the West Antarctica Ice Sheet led to mass migration and a complete reshuffling of the global order. Writing from the Second People's Republic of China on the 300th anniversary of the Great Collapse, a senior scholar presents a gripping and deeply disturbing account of how the children of the Enlightenment—the political and economic elites of the so-called advanced industrial societies—failed to act, and so brought about the collapse of Western civilization. In this haunting, provocative work of science-based fiction, the authors imagine a world devastated by climate change. Dramatizing the science in ways traditional nonfiction cannot, the book reasserts the importance of scientists and the work they do and reveals the self-serving interests of the so called “carbon combustion complex” that have turned the practice of science into political fodder. Based on sound scholarship and yet unafraid to speak boldly, this book provides a welcome moment of clarity amid the cacophony of climate change literature.Less
The year is 2393, and the world is almost unrecognizable. Clear warnings of climate catastrophe went ignored for decades, leading to soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, widespread drought and—finally—the disaster now known as the Great Collapse of 2093, when the disintegration of the West Antarctica Ice Sheet led to mass migration and a complete reshuffling of the global order. Writing from the Second People's Republic of China on the 300th anniversary of the Great Collapse, a senior scholar presents a gripping and deeply disturbing account of how the children of the Enlightenment—the political and economic elites of the so-called advanced industrial societies—failed to act, and so brought about the collapse of Western civilization. In this haunting, provocative work of science-based fiction, the authors imagine a world devastated by climate change. Dramatizing the science in ways traditional nonfiction cannot, the book reasserts the importance of scientists and the work they do and reveals the self-serving interests of the so called “carbon combustion complex” that have turned the practice of science into political fodder. Based on sound scholarship and yet unafraid to speak boldly, this book provides a welcome moment of clarity amid the cacophony of climate change literature.
A. L. Hollick and R. N. Cooper
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198292203
- eISBN:
- 9780191684883
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198292203.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The chapter discusses the global commons and attempts to answer the question of their manageability. The chapter states that the term resource implies either realized or potential scarcity which ...
More
The chapter discusses the global commons and attempts to answer the question of their manageability. The chapter states that the term resource implies either realized or potential scarcity which results from a situation of actual crowding or potential competition. It explains that the opportunities for managing global commons are diminished by the absence of community. The problem of management is made more complex by the fact that states are technologically and economically disparate, yet the international system retains the legal fiction of sovereign equality for all states. This results in the use of global commons resources being an ongoing source of dissension among nations. The chapter talks about global commons like oceans, from which topics of fishing, navigation, pollution, and the deep sea bed are explored, as well as Antarctica, outer space, the atmosphere, and global climate change.Less
The chapter discusses the global commons and attempts to answer the question of their manageability. The chapter states that the term resource implies either realized or potential scarcity which results from a situation of actual crowding or potential competition. It explains that the opportunities for managing global commons are diminished by the absence of community. The problem of management is made more complex by the fact that states are technologically and economically disparate, yet the international system retains the legal fiction of sovereign equality for all states. This results in the use of global commons resources being an ongoing source of dissension among nations. The chapter talks about global commons like oceans, from which topics of fishing, navigation, pollution, and the deep sea bed are explored, as well as Antarctica, outer space, the atmosphere, and global climate change.
Katie Pickles
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719091537
- eISBN:
- 9781526104120
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719091537.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, Imperialism and Colonialism
This chapter considers New Zealand’s strong connection to, and evolving relationship with, Antarctica. New Zealand staked a claim to the Ross Dependency in 1923; in 1958 Sir Edmund Hillary completed ...
More
This chapter considers New Zealand’s strong connection to, and evolving relationship with, Antarctica. New Zealand staked a claim to the Ross Dependency in 1923; in 1958 Sir Edmund Hillary completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica. New Zealand was a signatory to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, and in 1979 the plane crash at Mount Erebus cemented this location in the national psyche as a dangerous, dark place. This chapter identifies both significant historical events in which New Zealand has had an imperial presence, and current connections to Antarctica, at a time when artists, poets and writers have joined scientists in maintaining, developing and inventing the relationship between New Zealand and Antarctica.Less
This chapter considers New Zealand’s strong connection to, and evolving relationship with, Antarctica. New Zealand staked a claim to the Ross Dependency in 1923; in 1958 Sir Edmund Hillary completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica. New Zealand was a signatory to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, and in 1979 the plane crash at Mount Erebus cemented this location in the national psyche as a dangerous, dark place. This chapter identifies both significant historical events in which New Zealand has had an imperial presence, and current connections to Antarctica, at a time when artists, poets and writers have joined scientists in maintaining, developing and inventing the relationship between New Zealand and Antarctica.
Johanna Laybourn-Parry and Jemma L. Wadham
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199670499
- eISBN:
- 9780191788536
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199670499.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
Antarctica possesses a remarkably diverse range of lakes, including freshwater and saline lakes (some as salty as the Dead Sea), tidal freshwater lakes (epishelf lakes), lakes on ice shelves and ...
More
Antarctica possesses a remarkably diverse range of lakes, including freshwater and saline lakes (some as salty as the Dead Sea), tidal freshwater lakes (epishelf lakes), lakes on ice shelves and glacier surfaces, and an extraordinary network of lakes beneath the polar ice sheet, the so-called subglacial lakes. Unlike lakes at lower latitudes which in some cases have been subject to more than a century of study, Antarctic limnology is a recent discipline. It was not until the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958) that investigations on Antarctic lakes began to take off. This book is the first to draw together current knowledge on the geomorphology, morphometry, chemistry, community structure, and functioning of these delicate unproductive ecosystems. The communities of Antarctic lakes are truncated and dominated by microorganisms, reflecting the extreme nature of these ecosystems. They lack fish and have a limited metazoan component. The first chapter provides an introduction to Antarctic limnology and a basis for understanding subsequent chapters which detail each lake type. The polar regions are experiencing greater warming than lower latitudes, and Antarctic lakes are widely regarded as sentinels of local and global climate change. This important aspect is embedded throughout the book. The last chapter considers the application of new technologies to polar limnology, identifying areas for future research directions.Less
Antarctica possesses a remarkably diverse range of lakes, including freshwater and saline lakes (some as salty as the Dead Sea), tidal freshwater lakes (epishelf lakes), lakes on ice shelves and glacier surfaces, and an extraordinary network of lakes beneath the polar ice sheet, the so-called subglacial lakes. Unlike lakes at lower latitudes which in some cases have been subject to more than a century of study, Antarctic limnology is a recent discipline. It was not until the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958) that investigations on Antarctic lakes began to take off. This book is the first to draw together current knowledge on the geomorphology, morphometry, chemistry, community structure, and functioning of these delicate unproductive ecosystems. The communities of Antarctic lakes are truncated and dominated by microorganisms, reflecting the extreme nature of these ecosystems. They lack fish and have a limited metazoan component. The first chapter provides an introduction to Antarctic limnology and a basis for understanding subsequent chapters which detail each lake type. The polar regions are experiencing greater warming than lower latitudes, and Antarctic lakes are widely regarded as sentinels of local and global climate change. This important aspect is embedded throughout the book. The last chapter considers the application of new technologies to polar limnology, identifying areas for future research directions.
Sinead Moriarty
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781789620047
- eISBN:
- 9781789629613
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781789620047.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter considers William Payne’s 1912 novel Three Boys in Antarctica in light of the Robinsonade genre - in particular as an example of a text which relocates the tropical desert-island setting ...
More
This chapter considers William Payne’s 1912 novel Three Boys in Antarctica in light of the Robinsonade genre - in particular as an example of a text which relocates the tropical desert-island setting to the icy world of the Antarctic. It argues that, while the story does contain some traditional elements of the Robinsonade narrative, the Antarctic setting has a significant impact on the text’s underlying didactics. The chapter also argues for the importance of spatial considerations within the Robinsonade genre and offers a reconsideration of the traditional topography of the genre, underlining the significant relationship between the space of the text and the characters who inhabit it. Instead of celebrating the adventuring spirit of the traditional Robinsonades, the chapter concludes that Payne’s tale is a cautionary one, and one which seeks to undo the political heritage of the Robinsonade genre at large.Less
This chapter considers William Payne’s 1912 novel Three Boys in Antarctica in light of the Robinsonade genre - in particular as an example of a text which relocates the tropical desert-island setting to the icy world of the Antarctic. It argues that, while the story does contain some traditional elements of the Robinsonade narrative, the Antarctic setting has a significant impact on the text’s underlying didactics. The chapter also argues for the importance of spatial considerations within the Robinsonade genre and offers a reconsideration of the traditional topography of the genre, underlining the significant relationship between the space of the text and the characters who inhabit it. Instead of celebrating the adventuring spirit of the traditional Robinsonades, the chapter concludes that Payne’s tale is a cautionary one, and one which seeks to undo the political heritage of the Robinsonade genre at large.
Catherine Redgwell
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198298076
- eISBN:
- 9780191685378
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198298076.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law
The 1980 Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is a path-breaking example of the ecosystem approach to resource conservation and management. It essentially ...
More
The 1980 Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is a path-breaking example of the ecosystem approach to resource conservation and management. It essentially broke the mould in wildlife regulation, departing from the traditional approach of regulating exploitation of species or groups of species. Instead, CCAMLR adopts a modern multispecies ecosystem approach — an approach which now underpins a number of modern environmental treaties, including the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, which has adopted it ‘as a framework for the analysis and implementation of the objectives of the Convention’. In 1991, the negotiation of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty elevated ecosystem protection to a component of all activities in Antarctica. It designates Antarctica as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science, and requires comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems. Together the Protocol and CCAMLR comprehensively cover the marine and terrestrial ecosystems to the Antarctic. However, it is the marine ecosystem which contains most of Antarctica's flora and fauna, and where the CCAMLR pioneered an ecosystem approach to management. This chapter focuses on the ecosystem approach as it has developed under the CCAMLR. It then evaluates the Antarctic contribution to the protection of ecosystems under international law.Less
The 1980 Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is a path-breaking example of the ecosystem approach to resource conservation and management. It essentially broke the mould in wildlife regulation, departing from the traditional approach of regulating exploitation of species or groups of species. Instead, CCAMLR adopts a modern multispecies ecosystem approach — an approach which now underpins a number of modern environmental treaties, including the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, which has adopted it ‘as a framework for the analysis and implementation of the objectives of the Convention’. In 1991, the negotiation of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty elevated ecosystem protection to a component of all activities in Antarctica. It designates Antarctica as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science, and requires comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems. Together the Protocol and CCAMLR comprehensively cover the marine and terrestrial ecosystems to the Antarctic. However, it is the marine ecosystem which contains most of Antarctica's flora and fauna, and where the CCAMLR pioneered an ecosystem approach to management. This chapter focuses on the ecosystem approach as it has developed under the CCAMLR. It then evaluates the Antarctic contribution to the protection of ecosystems under international law.
Vanessa Heggie
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226650883
- eISBN:
- 9780226650913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226650913.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter outlines the long history of exploration in early modern and modern science, as well as changing theories about human adaptation, evolution, and acclimatization. It reviews the ...
More
This chapter outlines the long history of exploration in early modern and modern science, as well as changing theories about human adaptation, evolution, and acclimatization. It reviews the philosophical and historical arguments about the role of field work in scientific research and discovery, especially in human biology and medicine. It outlines what is meant by "extreme physiology" and considers how it is possible to write inclusive history within a topic that is so traditionally gendered as male, and is dominated by Western voices. It also outlines the arguments and ideas of the chapters that follow.Less
This chapter outlines the long history of exploration in early modern and modern science, as well as changing theories about human adaptation, evolution, and acclimatization. It reviews the philosophical and historical arguments about the role of field work in scientific research and discovery, especially in human biology and medicine. It outlines what is meant by "extreme physiology" and considers how it is possible to write inclusive history within a topic that is so traditionally gendered as male, and is dominated by Western voices. It also outlines the arguments and ideas of the chapters that follow.
Vanessa Heggie
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226650883
- eISBN:
- 9780226650913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226650913.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter looks at the history of physiological work in Antarctica and other extreme environments, to show how small and exclusive communities of highly networked scientists and explorers formed ...
More
This chapter looks at the history of physiological work in Antarctica and other extreme environments, to show how small and exclusive communities of highly networked scientists and explorers formed around the emerging discipline of extreme and survival physiology. Given that extreme physiologists work in environments that are impossible to control, and conduct experiments that are—at best—extremely difficult to replicate, this chapter examines how they established their expertise, and asserted the factual nature of their discoveries when their practices were so different from "traditional" modern science in the tightly controlled and replicable laboratory setting. As much of this authority was based on interpersonal networks, it also excluded certain groups of people: most notably women, and the indigenous and non-Western populations of the environments being explored. This chapter also highlights the deeply informal nature of much exchange within this global network, which was facilitated by informal meetings, letters, and the sharing of material culture in the form of objects and biomedical samples.Less
This chapter looks at the history of physiological work in Antarctica and other extreme environments, to show how small and exclusive communities of highly networked scientists and explorers formed around the emerging discipline of extreme and survival physiology. Given that extreme physiologists work in environments that are impossible to control, and conduct experiments that are—at best—extremely difficult to replicate, this chapter examines how they established their expertise, and asserted the factual nature of their discoveries when their practices were so different from "traditional" modern science in the tightly controlled and replicable laboratory setting. As much of this authority was based on interpersonal networks, it also excluded certain groups of people: most notably women, and the indigenous and non-Western populations of the environments being explored. This chapter also highlights the deeply informal nature of much exchange within this global network, which was facilitated by informal meetings, letters, and the sharing of material culture in the form of objects and biomedical samples.
Vanessa Heggie
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226650883
- eISBN:
- 9780226650913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226650913.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter examines the encounter between non-Western and Western knowledge in extreme environments, particularly focusing on technologies of survival; it makes the case for expanding our ...
More
This chapter examines the encounter between non-Western and Western knowledge in extreme environments, particularly focusing on technologies of survival; it makes the case for expanding our understanding of "bioprospecting" to include material culture and technology. It argues that "local knowledge" can be usefully divided into three categories: embodied knowledge, environmental knowledge, and survival technologies, and outlines the ways in which "indigenous knowledge" could be transformed—through erasure, reinvention, or being "proved right"—to make it acceptable to Western scientists and explorers (and a broader public). It also presents new understandings of the "local," especially in places without an indigenous population, where "local" knowledge could be universalized across (sometimes dissimilar) global environments.Less
This chapter examines the encounter between non-Western and Western knowledge in extreme environments, particularly focusing on technologies of survival; it makes the case for expanding our understanding of "bioprospecting" to include material culture and technology. It argues that "local knowledge" can be usefully divided into three categories: embodied knowledge, environmental knowledge, and survival technologies, and outlines the ways in which "indigenous knowledge" could be transformed—through erasure, reinvention, or being "proved right"—to make it acceptable to Western scientists and explorers (and a broader public). It also presents new understandings of the "local," especially in places without an indigenous population, where "local" knowledge could be universalized across (sometimes dissimilar) global environments.
Alessandro Antonello
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- June 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190907174
- eISBN:
- 9780190907204
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190907174.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History, Political History
The Greening of Antarctica investigates the development of an international regime of environmental protection and management for Antarctica between the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 and ...
More
The Greening of Antarctica investigates the development of an international regime of environmental protection and management for Antarctica between the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 and the signing of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1980. During those two decades the parties to the Antarctic Treaty and an international community of scientists surrounding the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research reimagined Antarctica from being a cold, sterile, and abiotic wilderness into a fragile and extensive regional ecosystem. This book investigates this change by analyzing the negotiations and developments surrounding four environmental agreements: the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora in 1964, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals in 1972, a voluntary restraint resolution on Antarctic mining in 1977, and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1980. The development of the Antarctic Treaty and the related conceptual changes occurred because states and scientists were continually searching for authority and power within various realms. All actors were balancing their search for power and authority with the desire to maintain stability and peace in the region. In this international and diplomatic context, the actors were not simply trying to keep relations between themselves orderly; they were also ordering the human relationship with the environment through treaties.Less
The Greening of Antarctica investigates the development of an international regime of environmental protection and management for Antarctica between the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 and the signing of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1980. During those two decades the parties to the Antarctic Treaty and an international community of scientists surrounding the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research reimagined Antarctica from being a cold, sterile, and abiotic wilderness into a fragile and extensive regional ecosystem. This book investigates this change by analyzing the negotiations and developments surrounding four environmental agreements: the Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora in 1964, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals in 1972, a voluntary restraint resolution on Antarctic mining in 1977, and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1980. The development of the Antarctic Treaty and the related conceptual changes occurred because states and scientists were continually searching for authority and power within various realms. All actors were balancing their search for power and authority with the desire to maintain stability and peace in the region. In this international and diplomatic context, the actors were not simply trying to keep relations between themselves orderly; they were also ordering the human relationship with the environment through treaties.
Jennifer Fay
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- March 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190696771
- eISBN:
- 9780190696818
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190696771.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory, Environmental Politics
Inhospitable World explores the connection between cinema and artificial weather, climates, and even planets in or on which hospitality and survival are at stake. Cinema’s dominant mode of aesthetic ...
More
Inhospitable World explores the connection between cinema and artificial weather, climates, and even planets in or on which hospitality and survival are at stake. Cinema’s dominant mode of aesthetic world-making is often at odds with the very real human world it is meant to simulate. The chapters in this book take the reader to a scene—the mise-en-scène—where human world-making is undone by the force of human activity, whether it is explicitly for the sake of making a film, or for practicing war and nuclear science, or for the purpose of addressing climate change in ways that exacerbate its already inhospitable effects. The episodes in this book emphasize our always unnatural and unwelcoming environment as a matter of production, a willed and wanted milieu, however harmful, that is inseparable from but also made perceivable through film. While no one film or set of films adds up to a totalizing explanation of climate change, cinema enables us to glimpse anthropogenic environments as both an accidental effect of human activity and a matter of design. Chapters on Buster Keaton, American atomic test films, film noir, the art of China’s Three Gorges Dam, and films of early Antarctic exploration trace parallel histories of film and location design that spell out the ambitions, sensations, and narratives of the Anthropocene, especially as it consolidates into the Great Acceleration starting in 1945.Less
Inhospitable World explores the connection between cinema and artificial weather, climates, and even planets in or on which hospitality and survival are at stake. Cinema’s dominant mode of aesthetic world-making is often at odds with the very real human world it is meant to simulate. The chapters in this book take the reader to a scene—the mise-en-scène—where human world-making is undone by the force of human activity, whether it is explicitly for the sake of making a film, or for practicing war and nuclear science, or for the purpose of addressing climate change in ways that exacerbate its already inhospitable effects. The episodes in this book emphasize our always unnatural and unwelcoming environment as a matter of production, a willed and wanted milieu, however harmful, that is inseparable from but also made perceivable through film. While no one film or set of films adds up to a totalizing explanation of climate change, cinema enables us to glimpse anthropogenic environments as both an accidental effect of human activity and a matter of design. Chapters on Buster Keaton, American atomic test films, film noir, the art of China’s Three Gorges Dam, and films of early Antarctic exploration trace parallel histories of film and location design that spell out the ambitions, sensations, and narratives of the Anthropocene, especially as it consolidates into the Great Acceleration starting in 1945.
Heidi Slettedahl Macpherson
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748624454
- eISBN:
- 9780748652242
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748624454.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
This chapter examines Jenny Diski's travel memoirs Skating to Antarctica and Stranger on a Train: Daydreaming and Smoking around America with Interruptions, suggesting that these works celebrate the ...
More
This chapter examines Jenny Diski's travel memoirs Skating to Antarctica and Stranger on a Train: Daydreaming and Smoking around America with Interruptions, suggesting that these works celebrate the dislocating nature of travel and urge one to position oneself as an outsider, peering in (or, turning away). It argues that though Diski offered up a portrait of herself as knowing, she is also a withholding author, who played with the idea of discovery and revelation only to deny the ultimate effectiveness of both.Less
This chapter examines Jenny Diski's travel memoirs Skating to Antarctica and Stranger on a Train: Daydreaming and Smoking around America with Interruptions, suggesting that these works celebrate the dislocating nature of travel and urge one to position oneself as an outsider, peering in (or, turning away). It argues that though Diski offered up a portrait of herself as knowing, she is also a withholding author, who played with the idea of discovery and revelation only to deny the ultimate effectiveness of both.
Quentin R. Walsh
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813034799
- eISBN:
- 9780813039688
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034799.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Virtually all the whales obtained in Shark Bay were delivered to the factory ship on the same day as they had been killed; toward the end of the season some carcasses were delivered after midnight, ...
More
Virtually all the whales obtained in Shark Bay were delivered to the factory ship on the same day as they had been killed; toward the end of the season some carcasses were delivered after midnight, but such instances were comparatively few and far between and no exceptions were made on the records. The expedition's killer boats were allowed to take only an allotted number of whales daily, the number being determined by the factory shop manager. This system prevailed for most of the season. The Australian records was examined every morning by the American inspector. Strictly speaking, the Ulysses had little to do with the actual formulation of Form WI-1 as an official record for the United States government. In Antarctica, the company's disregard for maintaining this form in an accurate manner was even more pronounced. The method of recording the data is in need of some explanation, which this chapter attempts to give.Less
Virtually all the whales obtained in Shark Bay were delivered to the factory ship on the same day as they had been killed; toward the end of the season some carcasses were delivered after midnight, but such instances were comparatively few and far between and no exceptions were made on the records. The expedition's killer boats were allowed to take only an allotted number of whales daily, the number being determined by the factory shop manager. This system prevailed for most of the season. The Australian records was examined every morning by the American inspector. Strictly speaking, the Ulysses had little to do with the actual formulation of Form WI-1 as an official record for the United States government. In Antarctica, the company's disregard for maintaining this form in an accurate manner was even more pronounced. The method of recording the data is in need of some explanation, which this chapter attempts to give.
Adrian Howkins
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190249144
- eISBN:
- 9780190249175
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190249144.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, World Modern History
This book examines the environmental history of the Antarctic Peninsula region from the early twentieth century to the present. As the most politically contested part of the Antarctic continent, the ...
More
This book examines the environmental history of the Antarctic Peninsula region from the early twentieth century to the present. As the most politically contested part of the Antarctic continent, the Antarctic Peninsula region is a good location for considering the intersection of diplomatic history and environmental history. In making imperial claims to the “Falkland Islands Dependencies,” British officials argued that the production of useful scientific knowledge about the Antarctic environment helped to justify British ownership. In contrast, Argentines and Chileans made the case that the Antarctica Peninsula belonged to them as a result of geographical proximity, geological continuity, and a general sense of connection. Despite being caught up in the broader struggles between imperialism and nationalism of the mid-twentieth century, the Antarctic Peninsula region was never decolonized. Instead, under the terms of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, existing sovereignty claims and reservations of rights were “frozen” for the duration of the treaty, and the whole Antarctic continent came to be governed by a treaty system that drew much of its authority from the production of useful scientific knowledge. In making an argument for imperial continuity in the history of the Antarctic Peninsula region, an environmental history approach offers a new perspective on the history of Antarctica that suggests that the environment, science, and politics continue to be closely entwined. This in turn has important implications for thinking about connections between diplomatic history and environmental history in different parts of the world and in addressing pressing global challenges such as climate change.Less
This book examines the environmental history of the Antarctic Peninsula region from the early twentieth century to the present. As the most politically contested part of the Antarctic continent, the Antarctic Peninsula region is a good location for considering the intersection of diplomatic history and environmental history. In making imperial claims to the “Falkland Islands Dependencies,” British officials argued that the production of useful scientific knowledge about the Antarctic environment helped to justify British ownership. In contrast, Argentines and Chileans made the case that the Antarctica Peninsula belonged to them as a result of geographical proximity, geological continuity, and a general sense of connection. Despite being caught up in the broader struggles between imperialism and nationalism of the mid-twentieth century, the Antarctic Peninsula region was never decolonized. Instead, under the terms of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, existing sovereignty claims and reservations of rights were “frozen” for the duration of the treaty, and the whole Antarctic continent came to be governed by a treaty system that drew much of its authority from the production of useful scientific knowledge. In making an argument for imperial continuity in the history of the Antarctic Peninsula region, an environmental history approach offers a new perspective on the history of Antarctica that suggests that the environment, science, and politics continue to be closely entwined. This in turn has important implications for thinking about connections between diplomatic history and environmental history in different parts of the world and in addressing pressing global challenges such as climate change.
Thomas M. Franck
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198267850
- eISBN:
- 9780191683398
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267850.003.0012
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
Having examined the parameters of fairness discourse in addressing the problematic of environmental management, it is now possible to see how these play out in practice. This chapter examines efforts ...
More
Having examined the parameters of fairness discourse in addressing the problematic of environmental management, it is now possible to see how these play out in practice. This chapter examines efforts to introduce notions of distributive justice into the creation and implementation of regimes for the protection of the ozone layer, management of climate change, the law of the sea, outer space, Antarctica, biodiversity, and the preservation of species and forests. In the 1990s, efforts to link environmental management and preservation with development assistance proved significantly more successful — in any event they received a far more respectful and sensitive hearing — than comparable efforts in the 1970s to link trade and development assistance in the debate over the New International Economic Order. At that time, fairness-related claims were seen as definitely and properly on the table.Less
Having examined the parameters of fairness discourse in addressing the problematic of environmental management, it is now possible to see how these play out in practice. This chapter examines efforts to introduce notions of distributive justice into the creation and implementation of regimes for the protection of the ozone layer, management of climate change, the law of the sea, outer space, Antarctica, biodiversity, and the preservation of species and forests. In the 1990s, efforts to link environmental management and preservation with development assistance proved significantly more successful — in any event they received a far more respectful and sensitive hearing — than comparable efforts in the 1970s to link trade and development assistance in the debate over the New International Economic Order. At that time, fairness-related claims were seen as definitely and properly on the table.
T. R. Hitchings
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520098688
- eISBN:
- 9780520943803
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520098688.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
This chapter examines the post-glacial population distribution of mayflies in New Zealand. It explains that the mayfly population was isolated after New Zealand was separated from Antarctica and the ...
More
This chapter examines the post-glacial population distribution of mayflies in New Zealand. It explains that the mayfly population was isolated after New Zealand was separated from Antarctica and the eastern coast of Australia during the late Cretaceous period, and that the survivors evolved into the present fauna, which includes 42 species. The result of the analysis supports the view that a center of population dispersal of double gilled leptophlebiid was in northern New Zealand and that glaciations in the south resulted in a different pattern of radiation of some single-gilled species. The chapter argues that the pattern of distribution is not necessarily purely the result of biogeographical processes.Less
This chapter examines the post-glacial population distribution of mayflies in New Zealand. It explains that the mayfly population was isolated after New Zealand was separated from Antarctica and the eastern coast of Australia during the late Cretaceous period, and that the survivors evolved into the present fauna, which includes 42 species. The result of the analysis supports the view that a center of population dispersal of double gilled leptophlebiid was in northern New Zealand and that glaciations in the south resulted in a different pattern of radiation of some single-gilled species. The chapter argues that the pattern of distribution is not necessarily purely the result of biogeographical processes.
Jan Zalasiewicz
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780199214976
- eISBN:
- 9780191917387
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199214976.003.0007
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Geology and the Lithosphere
A storyteller arrives, one hundred million years from now, to tell the tale of the human species. It is an interval that will add a couple of per cent to the age of ...
More
A storyteller arrives, one hundred million years from now, to tell the tale of the human species. It is an interval that will add a couple of per cent to the age of the Earth and a little under one per cent to the age of the Universe. Geologically, it is the near future. Cosmologically, we are almost there. There will be an Earth, that which we now call our own. On it there will be, very probably but not quite certainly, oceans of liquid water, an oxygen-rich atmosphere, and an abundance of complex, multicellular life. The Earth is abnormal, and that will draw any interstellar travellers in. The spaceship’s sensors—a simple spectroscope will suffice here—will immediately register the highly reactive surface chemistry that is out of any sort of normal equilibrium. An oxygen-rich atmosphere is not normal. Even from a distance of many millions of miles, this will be a planet that is obviously alive. Closer up, the living skin on the planet, regulator of that planetary surface chemistry, can begin to be glimpsed, as the green wavelengths that mingle with the blue of the oceans of liquid water and the brown of the rock surfaces. Our future visitors would not yet be aware of chlorophyll, but that unexpected signal shining through in the light spectrum would certainly arouse their curiosity. Rock, oceans . . . and green stuff. The geography of the Earth, to our own human and contemporary eyes, would look oddly familiar, but distorted: as though remodelled by Salvador Dali. Familiar landmasses will be displaced. But where to? Unfortunately, we cannot predict where the Earth’s continents will be in one hundred million years’ time. Will the Atlantic Ocean continue to widen, and the Pacific Ocean shrink? Will the East African Rift expand into an ocean? Will the continents aggregate into super-continents, as has happened in the past? Long-term tectonic forecasts, like long-range weather forecasts, are subject to such uncertainties that detailed prediction becomes useless; there are simply too many possible alternative futures. Our planet’s physiography will simply be different, one hundred million years from now, though with elements we would find partly familiar, rearranged as though by the hand of some gigantic and playful child.
Less
A storyteller arrives, one hundred million years from now, to tell the tale of the human species. It is an interval that will add a couple of per cent to the age of the Earth and a little under one per cent to the age of the Universe. Geologically, it is the near future. Cosmologically, we are almost there. There will be an Earth, that which we now call our own. On it there will be, very probably but not quite certainly, oceans of liquid water, an oxygen-rich atmosphere, and an abundance of complex, multicellular life. The Earth is abnormal, and that will draw any interstellar travellers in. The spaceship’s sensors—a simple spectroscope will suffice here—will immediately register the highly reactive surface chemistry that is out of any sort of normal equilibrium. An oxygen-rich atmosphere is not normal. Even from a distance of many millions of miles, this will be a planet that is obviously alive. Closer up, the living skin on the planet, regulator of that planetary surface chemistry, can begin to be glimpsed, as the green wavelengths that mingle with the blue of the oceans of liquid water and the brown of the rock surfaces. Our future visitors would not yet be aware of chlorophyll, but that unexpected signal shining through in the light spectrum would certainly arouse their curiosity. Rock, oceans . . . and green stuff. The geography of the Earth, to our own human and contemporary eyes, would look oddly familiar, but distorted: as though remodelled by Salvador Dali. Familiar landmasses will be displaced. But where to? Unfortunately, we cannot predict where the Earth’s continents will be in one hundred million years’ time. Will the Atlantic Ocean continue to widen, and the Pacific Ocean shrink? Will the East African Rift expand into an ocean? Will the continents aggregate into super-continents, as has happened in the past? Long-term tectonic forecasts, like long-range weather forecasts, are subject to such uncertainties that detailed prediction becomes useless; there are simply too many possible alternative futures. Our planet’s physiography will simply be different, one hundred million years from now, though with elements we would find partly familiar, rearranged as though by the hand of some gigantic and playful child.
Michele Zebich-Knos
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300205169
- eISBN:
- 9780300210385
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300205169.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter examines the role of Antarctic polar diplomacy in the management of tourist travel to the continent. It seeks to broaden understanding of how visits to Antarctica are managed by a global ...
More
This chapter examines the role of Antarctic polar diplomacy in the management of tourist travel to the continent. It seeks to broaden understanding of how visits to Antarctica are managed by a global community of actors who share an interest in that continent’s physical environment. Such policy management requires the integration of governmental outputs in the form of subnational management activities, multilateral cooperation under the Antarctic Treaty System umbrella, and contributions from nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. The chapter concludes that creation of a comprehensive mandatory Polar Code specific to Antarctica is a natural, and much-needed, extension of this management process.Less
This chapter examines the role of Antarctic polar diplomacy in the management of tourist travel to the continent. It seeks to broaden understanding of how visits to Antarctica are managed by a global community of actors who share an interest in that continent’s physical environment. Such policy management requires the integration of governmental outputs in the form of subnational management activities, multilateral cooperation under the Antarctic Treaty System umbrella, and contributions from nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. The chapter concludes that creation of a comprehensive mandatory Polar Code specific to Antarctica is a natural, and much-needed, extension of this management process.
Damien Degeorges and Saleem H. Ali
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300205169
- eISBN:
- 9780300210385
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300205169.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Climate change is opening the navigational potential of the Arctic, attracting the interest of major commercial powers such as China, despite the lack of any particular historical linkages they may ...
More
Climate change is opening the navigational potential of the Arctic, attracting the interest of major commercial powers such as China, despite the lack of any particular historical linkages they may have to the region. Investors from resource-extractive nations like Australia are similarly attracted to Arctic areas such as Greenland because of their potential for mineral investment. These unusual connections for economic expediency should be harnessed as a means of “creative diplomacy,” as noted by former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. Furthermore, instead of seeing China as a competitor or hegemonic power, there is an opportunity to apply some of the lessons of Antarctic scientific cooperation to the Arctic as well. This chapter documents the various pathways for cooperation that might be followed as climate change provides new economic opportunities, particularly around extraction of rare earth elements. We also recognize the ecological challenges in the Arctic of any resource extraction, and hence the confluence of science and economics is recognized as essential in fostering a sustainable outcome for the development of the region.Less
Climate change is opening the navigational potential of the Arctic, attracting the interest of major commercial powers such as China, despite the lack of any particular historical linkages they may have to the region. Investors from resource-extractive nations like Australia are similarly attracted to Arctic areas such as Greenland because of their potential for mineral investment. These unusual connections for economic expediency should be harnessed as a means of “creative diplomacy,” as noted by former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. Furthermore, instead of seeing China as a competitor or hegemonic power, there is an opportunity to apply some of the lessons of Antarctic scientific cooperation to the Arctic as well. This chapter documents the various pathways for cooperation that might be followed as climate change provides new economic opportunities, particularly around extraction of rare earth elements. We also recognize the ecological challenges in the Arctic of any resource extraction, and hence the confluence of science and economics is recognized as essential in fostering a sustainable outcome for the development of the region.
