Why We Disagree about Climate Change
Understanding Controversy, Inaction and Opportunity

A unique insider's account of climate change and the diverse ways in which it is understood.

Mike Hulme (Author)

9780521727327, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 30 April 2009

428 pages, 2 b/w illus. 1 table
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.68 kg

'… he has written an excellent analysis of the terrain and does a great service by drawing together the essence of a very large multi-disciplinary literature. Anecdotes are freely employed to illustrate arguments and these provide a useful aid to comprehension.' Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa

Climate change is not 'a problem' waiting for 'a solution'. It is an environmental, cultural and political phenomenon which is re-shaping the way we think about ourselves, our societies and humanity's place on Earth. Drawing upon twenty-five years of professional work as an international climate change scientist and public commentator, Mike Hulme provides a unique insider's account of the emergence of this phenomenon and the diverse ways in which it is understood. He uses different standpoints from science, economics, faith, psychology, communication, sociology, politics and development to explain why we disagree about climate change. In this way he shows that climate change, far from being simply an 'issue' or a 'threat', can act as a catalyst to revise our perception of our place in the world. Why We Disagree About Climate Change is an important contribution to the ongoing debate over climate change and its likely impact on our lives.

List of figures
List of tables
List of boxes
Acknowledgements
Preface
Foreword Steve Rayner
1. The social meanings of climate
2. The discovery of climate change
3. The performance of science
4. The endowment of value
5. The things we believe
6. The things we fear
7. The communication of risk
8. The challenges of development
9. The way we govern
10. Beyond climate change
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Social issues: environment & green issues [Children's / Teenage YXZG], Social impact of environmental issues [RNT], Meteorology & climatology [RBP], Environmental factors [MBNH2], Environmental economics [KCN]