Public Awareness Of Climate Change Research Articles

A dual-objective metaheuristic approach to solve practical pollution routing problem

With the growing public awareness of global warming, green supply chain management has received much attention. In particular, reducing the fuel consumption of trucks has been the topic of interest for both transportation providers (carriers) and manufacturing companies (shippers) over many years. As a way to reduce trucks’ fuel burn, attention has been given lately to the development of a decision model (problem) that is designed to solve a variant of the standard vehicle routing problem, called the pollution routing problem (PRP), which minimizes the fuel burn or pollutants emission of trucks. While useful in many respects, existing PRP models require many inputs from the users, making it inconvenient to utilize them in the field. In this paper we consider the PRP from the users’ viewpoint. We first identify, by reviewing the PRP literature and obtaining expert opinions from carrier managers, a practical PRP model that uses only a subset of the inputs required by other PRPs, and then develop an effective solution technique for this model. Based on the theoretical finding that the proposed PRP, which is a single-objective optimization problem, can be re-formulated as a dual-objective optimization problem, we develop a solution technique that utilizes the concept of efficient frontier to identify and search the most promising area of the solution space. Computational testing conducted with standard instances taken from the literature demonstrates the potential of the proposed approach.

Measuring climate change on Twitter using Google’s algorithm: perception and events

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis of whether more complex and emergent hashtags can be sufficient pointers to climate change events. Human-induced climate change is one of this century’s greatest unbalancing forces to have affected our planet. Capturing the public awareness of climate change on Twitter has proven to be significant. In a previous research, it was demonstrated by the authors that public awareness is prominently expressed in the form of hashtags that uses more than one bigram (i.e. a climate change term). The research finding showed that this awareness is expressed by more complex terms (e.g. “climate change”). It was learned that the awareness was dominantly expressed using the hashtag: #ClimateChange. Design/methodology/approach – The methods demonstrated here use objective computational approaches [i.e. Google’s ranking algorithm and Information Retrieval measures (e.g. TFIDF)] to detect and rank the emerging events. Findings – The results shows a clear significant evidence for the events signaled using emergent hashtags and how globally influential they are. The research detected the Earth Day, 2015, which was signaled using the hashtag #EarthDay. Clearly, this is a day that is globally observed by the worldwide population. Originality/value – It was proven that these computational methods eliminate the subjectivity errors associated with humans and provide inexpensive solution for event detection on Twitter. Indeed, the approach used here can also be applicable to other types of event detections, beyond climate change, and surely applicable to other social media platforms that support the use of hashtags (e.g. Facebook). The paper explains, in great detail, the methods and all the numerous events detected.

Public preferences for carbon tax attributes

The impacts of climate change are already visible throughout the world. Recognizing the threats posed by climate change, the Durban Platform, the 17th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP 17), underscores that the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation and ambitious action by all countries. A crucial starting point for the design of effective and publicly acceptable policies is to explore public preferences for climate policy instruments. Using a choice experiment, this study investigates public preferences for carbon tax attributes in a developing country context. The results account for heterogeneity in preferences and show that Turkish people prefer a carbon tax with a progressive cost distribution rather than one with a regressive cost distribution. The private cost has a negative effect on the probability of choosing the tax. Earmarking carbon tax revenues increases the public acceptability of the tax. Moreover, there is a preference for a carbon tax that promotes public awareness of climate change.

Dynamics of carbon footprints at the manufacturing stage

Because of the public awareness of climate change in recent decades, carbon footprint (CF) has become a crucial concern. Many companies have introduced CF estimation for their operational activities. The long-run CF averaging method is common and widely used for CF estimation. This method generates only static CF information; however, it does not detect the dynamics of CFs. In this paper, two case studies, a power plant and a photovoltaic module plant, were conducted to show the dynamic changes in CFs, and the CF difference over various time spans was compared to investigate the influence of CF averaging over different time spans on CF estimation. The results showed that the fluctuation of the CF over time was significant, and the short time spans for the calculation of CF averaging might have positive influences in CF estimation. However, more evidences from industries are required to verify the universality of the results.

The Urban-Rural Disparities in Public Awareness of Climate Change in China: A Study of Outreach Communication Strategie

The Urban-Rural Disparities in Public Awareness of Climate Change in China: A Study of Outreach Communication Strategie

Political Economy of Climate Change Policy

Anthropogenic climate change poses a threat to all people and governments, but the response to that threat varies enormously across countries. Some adopt politically costly and economically challenging climate change mitigation policies, while others deny that climate change is occurring. Why do some countries adopt effective climate change policies while others do not? To answer this fundamental question, this paper analyses the political economy determinants of climate change policy around the world. In order to measure climate change policy, we introduce a new index, the ‘Climate Laws, Institutions and Measures Index’ (CLIMI), the first systematic attempt to measure countries’ policy responses to the risk of climate change. CLIMI covers all the relevant institutions and sector-specific policies in 95 countries, representing 90% of the world’s GHG emissions. We then use CLIMI to examine the political and economic factors that determine countries’ choices to implement policies to tackle climate change. We find that the level of democracy alone is not a major driver of climate change policy adoption, but that public knowledge of climate change is. Not surprisingly, a high concentration of carbon-intensive industry in the economy hinders the adoption of climate change policy. Countries in which the citizenry has a better public awareness of climate change have more effective climate policies regardless of the presence of democratic institutions.

Cross-National Public Opinion on Climate Change: The Effects of Affluence and Vulnerability

Climate change has emerged as one of the most important issues of the twentyfirst century. Recent opinion polls show rising public awareness of climate change. Yet considerable cross-national variation exists in the intensity of public concern and in public willingness to pay for addressing climate change. Drawing on twelve multinational surveys, we examine two aggregate conditions—a country's affluence and its vulnerability to climate risks—as key factors underlying cross-national differences in public support for and commitment to costly climate policies. In contrast to the post-materialism thesis, we find “strong” concern about climate change to be higher in developing countries. Contrary to expectation, climate vulnerability had little effect on public concern, but did have significant impact on some measures of personal commitment and support for climate policies. The analysis indicates that, in most countries examined, high concern about climate change is only beginning to translate into personal commitment to action.

Green Road Approach for the Sustainable Development in India

Road transport is considered to be one of the cost effective and preferred modes oftransport for both freight and passengers. India has an extensive road network of 4.24million km– the second largest in the world (MoRTH, 2005). The National Highways havea total length of 70,934 km and serve as the arterial road network of the country. It isestimated that more than 70 per cent of freight and 85 per cent of passenger traffic in thecountry is being handled by roads. While Highways/ Expressways constitute only about 2% of the length of all roads, rest are state highway, major district road , district roads andrural and other road which is consider as low volume road.Growing public awareness of climate change requires transportation professionals tointegrate green concepts into the transportation planning, design, construction, andoperation processes.Green highways are a relatively new concept although the implementation of technologiesinvolved in green highway design has been encouraged for many years. A green road maynot look like normal road at first glance, but with closer inspection a driver will noticesubtle difference. More plant life grows along the shoulder, and more trees are planted aswildlife buffers and ridding quality. In towns, highways become more aestheticallypleasing, and in rural areas highways become a more natural part of the environment agreen highway can be defined by five broad topics such as Conservation and EcosystemManagement, Water Shed Driven Strong Water Management, Life Cycle Energy andEmissions Reduction, Recycles Reuse And Renewable, Overall Societal Benefits.This paper describes the factor affecting of green road and construction process ofwearing course of pavement through Microsurfacing which reduce the both direct andindirect cost. Microsurfacing is environmental friendly which reduce the greenhouse gasand fuel consummation.

The Arduous Process of Climate Change Negotiations: How Science Can Facilitate the Desired Outcome

Effective interaction between climate science and policy is important for moving climate negotiations forward to reach an ambitious global climate change deal. Lack of progress in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations during recent years is a good reason for taking a closer look at the process of climate science–policy interaction to identify and eliminate existing shortcomings hindering climate policymaking. This paper examines the current state of climate science–policy interaction and suggests ways to integrate scientific input into the UNFCCC process more effectively. Suggestions relate to improvement in institutional structures, processes and procedures of the UNFCCC and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), quality of scientific input, credibility of scientific message and public awareness of climate change.

Between hype and decline: recent trends in public perception of climate change

► Our paper challenges some of the commonly held views of public perception on climate change. ► Surveys on perception of climate change show a decrease of concern the last few years. ► The like is observed in our own survey in Hamburg. ► This decline may be intermittent rather than a long term development. ► And, it doesn’t mirror the increase in scientific confidence and media coverage. Several surveys around the world claim that the issue of climate change is of declining interest among the population. Hamburg, regularly experiencing storm surges and suffered a major flood in 1962, shows evidence of this tendency in yearly surveys undertaken from 2008 to 2011. Comparing detected trends in public awareness of climate change around the western world, this paper concludes that there is a decline in public concern about climate change in the last few years. A few surveys in the US reaching back to the 1990s indicate that this decline may be intermittent; data suggest that the long-term increase in scientific confidence and in media coverage is not transferred in a parallel long-term increase in public concern about climate change.

Extract from a Report on the Origins of the Present Crisis

Neill Blomkamp's District 9, Culver City, Calif: TriStar Pictures, 2009. James Cameron's Avatar, Los Angeles: Twentieth Century Fox, 2009. Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men, Hollywood, Calif: Universal Pictures, 2006. Davis Guggenheim's An Incovient Truth, Hollywood, Calif: Paramount, 2006. Robert Kenners Food, Inc., Los Angeles: Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2008. January 23, 2072 Sisters, During preservation activities in Sector Three, a machine was discovered which holds important clues about the crisis. After much work, we have been able to recover a series of documents stored on this machine. These documents appear to consist of memoranda between different branches of the military establishment of the former government I submit them as part of my larger report on the origins of the present crisis. Whether the comments in these memoranda were animated by blindness, folly, or evil, I leave you to judge. Sister Indomita Order for the Preservation of Lost Knowledge Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence 1400 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC, 20301-1400 January 1, 2010 MEMORANDUM FOR DIRECTOR, SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE, OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAI RS -ENTERTAINMENT LIAISON SUBJECT: HOLLYWOOD DEPICTIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence has followed growing public awareness of climate change with mounting concern. We cannot allow such films to trigger social unrest. Please advise on measures taken in this regard. Director, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs Office of Public Affairs-Entertainment Liaison 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1240 Los Angeles, CA 90024 January 9, 2010 MEMORANDUM FOR UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR INTELLIGENCE SUBJECT: HOLLYWOOD DEPICTIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE The Undersecretary of Defense is correct that film companies are increasingly taking climate change as fodder. We do not, however, believe that this is a cause for alarm. Films such as An Inconvenient Truth and Food, Inc. try to make the public aware of relatively unacknowledged information regarding contemporary threats to the natural systems on which human life depends. Although this office has not acted in an advisory role in the production of these films, we believe that their didactic format ensures that they will have little impact beyond a small, hyperliterate fringe segment of the US public. An Inconvenient Truth, for example, lays out the scientific evidence concerning anthropogenic climate change. Most of this information is dry, and is unlikely to interest the average American, who we believe spends far more time thinking about how to make ends meet in an increasingly hostile economic climate than about the likely future impact of environmental destabilization. The filmmakers try to galvanize interest by hooking the films didactic material to the life story of former vice president Al Gore. His story is, however, remote to most people - his upbringing on a large farm as the son of a long-serving senator smacks of the kind of inside-theBeltway privilege that so riles average folks. His crusade to spread the news about climate change comes across as the hobbyhorse of someone totally disconnected from the daily grind. As for the science presented by An Inconvenient Truth, the efforts of the Advancement of Sound Science Coalition and www.JunkScience.com have spread so much doubt and disbelief about the veracity of scientific claims concerning climate change that the likelihood of a significant social movement arising around this issue is slim. Similar observations hold true for Food, Inc. The film admittedly deals with an issue - the quality of food available to ordinary Americans - that certainly has far more relevance to the average person on a day-to-day basis than the climate alarmism in Gore's film. …

Green Contracting in Highway Construction

Growing public awareness of climate change requires transportation professionals to integrate green concepts into the transportation planning, design, construction, and operation processes. For the past decade, although many studies have been done on carbon emission reduction strategies for on-road and off-road operations, few studies have dealt with emission reduction issues in highway project delivery. This paper, based on a survey of 39 state departments of transportation, reports the green contracting practice for delivering highway projects in the United States. Four levels of green contracting strategies and their application procedures are identified. Organizational reasons for successful implementation of green contracting are presented and discussed. More important, the study discovers there is a substantial lack of consistent methodology and processes for implementing green contracting. Nor is there a common vocabulary in this field. In an effort to promote green contracting in highway construction, the study suggests that state highway agencies (a) establish organizationwide green initiatives, (b) develop green specifications and standards, and (c) encourage broader industry participation.

Public perception of global warming and related environmental issues in Kano city, Nigeria

Background Sub-Saharan African countries are at an increased risk of the effects of global warming. Unfortunately they have the least capacity to adapt to its untoward effects. We studied public awareness of global warming, its perceived causes, effects and prevention in Kano city, northern Nigeria. Methods Structured questionnaires were administered on a cross section of 181 adults in Kano eliciting their awareness of global warming, as well as perceived causes, effects and ways of prevention. Results Of the 181 respondents, 132 (72.9%) were aware of global warming mainly from electronic media (44.4%), the Internet (20.5%) and schools (18.7%). They mostly attributed it to air pollution (99.2%), use of fossil fuels (97.7%), toxic waste (78.0%) and chlorofluorocarbons (73.5%). Perceived effects of global warming include extremes of ambient temperature (97.7%), increased disease outbreaks (92.4%), floods (68.2%), droughts (51.5%) and loss of species (50.0%). Respondents opined that global warming could be prevented by using renewable sources of energy such as the sun (53.8%), massive tree planting (44.7%) and phasing out of old automobiles (43.2%). A significantly higher proportion of males, younger and educated respondents were aware of global warming. Conclusion The high awareness about global warming needs to be reinforced through use of media to encourage advocacy and community action towards preventing global warming and ensuring environmental sustainability. Keywords: Public perception, global warming, Kano, Nigeria

Uncertainties in the carbon footprint of food products: a case study on table potatoes

Background, aim, and scope Carbon footprint (CF) has become a hot topic as public awareness of climate change is placing demands on manufacturers to declare the climate impact of their products. Calculating the CF of food products is complex and associated with unavoidable uncertainty due to the inherent variability of natural processes. This study quantifies the uncertainty of a common food product and discusses the results in relation to different types of CF systems for food product labelling.

Chemical Research and Climate Change as Drivers in the Commercial Adoption of Alkali Activated Materials

Portland cement production has been identified as a primary contributor to the world’s Greenhouse gas emissions, calculated at around 5–8% of all manmade emissions worldwide. The majority of these emissions are inherent to the chemistry of cement and the high-temperature processing required for its synthesis, and so can only be avoided by radical changes in construction materials chemistry and synthesis pathways. Inorganic polymer (including “geopolymer”) binders provide an alternative to traditional cements with approximately 80% less CO2 emissions, and are derived from industrial waste materials such as fly ash and metallurgical slags, which additionally provide a means of valorizing these wastes. This paper reviews the technical and commercial factors driving the growing commercial adoption of geopolymer technology, and explains that an understanding of the chemistry and mechanisms of geopolymer synthesis is pivotal for the optimal mix design of “green” concretes in industry. Demand pull by a carbon conscious market at a time of growing public awareness of climate change continues to be the key driver for the short term adoption of geopolymer concrete. A detailed chemical understanding of the properties of geopolymers, such as setting time, workability and durability, plays an enabling role in the commercialization process.

Enduring Drought Then Coping With Climate Change: Lived Experience And Local Resolve In Rural Mental Health

Climate change awareness has taken a dramatic turn in Australia, intensifying debate over the meaning of prolonged drought for rural futures, with critical implications for rural mental health. This paper is drawn from research on perceptions of Australian climate during a period of marked shift in public awareness of climate change (2004–2007). It utilises oral histories gathered in dryland farm communities of the semiarid Victorian Mallee at the edge of the nation’s commercial cropping zone – in particular, the stories of women’s health workers – to highlight the interdependency of environmental, economic, political and mental health concerns in rural and remote communities. Focusing on lived experience, the paper explores the narratives through which people have apprehended drought and climate change – in discourse of endurance, uncertainty and putative adaptation – revealing advocacy and local resolve in the provision of rural mental health services, and, fundamentally, a paradigm of embodiment in rural social work.

The New Avant-Garde

This text is a reflection on the ousting of the eleven-year-old neoliberal government in Australia in November 2007. It considers the role that public awareness of climate change might have played in that defeat. This leads to a comment on the new humanities’ received attitude toward science and the desirability of revising it.

Review: The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World’s Greatest Challenge by Kirsten Dow and Thomas E. Downing

Review: The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World’s Greatest Challenge By Kirstin Dow and Thomas E. Downing Reviewed by Muhammad Aurang Zeb Mughal Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, Pakistan Dow, Kirstin and Downing, Thomas E. The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World’s Greatest Challenge. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2006. 112 pp. ISBN: 1-84407-376-9. US$19.95, £12.99, paper. The Atlas of Climate Change is an amazing effort by Kirstin Dow and Thomas E. Downing. Kirstin Dow is Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina and Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute. Thomas E. Downing is Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute and Visiting Fellow at Oxford University, contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and advisor to the UK Climate Impacts Programme. The Atlas reflects major findings of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report to support the writers’ view that “we know enough to act, and will face ever more serious consequences for delays in doing so” (p. 9). The atlas provides scientific information related to climate change with the help of beautifully illustrated colorful maps, graphs, tables and photographs. It elaborates the reasons, evidence and consequences of climate change and looks into the measurements taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It covers a wide range of topics including warning signals, future scenarios, vulnerable populations, health impacts, renewable energy and emissions reduction. It presents evidence and signs of climate change with reference to polar changes, glacial retreat and the weather-related disasters around the world. It analyzes the causes of climate change in a historical perspective and shows how the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases like methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide is the direct consequence of industrialization and growing dependence on motor vehicles. It also attempts to examine the impact of climate change on ecosystem and human life. Food and water scarcities, salt-water intrusion into freshwater supplies, coastal erosion, coastal storms and rising sea levels are some of the various hazards of climatic change. These cause threats to health, economy and cultural assets in the form of heat-waves, droughts and flooding. Coastal communities and regions with high population and intensive economic development are at serious risk. The issue of climate change must be taken as a serious challenge at all levels. Governments, business and civil organizations can play a major role in formulating and implementing the policies at public level. Efforts should also be made at the personal level to take steps in changing the living style to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions. The Atlas of Climate Change evaluates international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) stresses stabilizing greenhouse gases emissions at a level that would prevent human induced interference with the climate system, and the Kyoto Protocol sets targets for reduction in emissions. Although over 160 countries have ratified the Protocol, not all of these have met the targets for reduction. Kirstin Dow and Thomas E. Downing advocate solutions to the issue like trading in carbon credits to share the burden of reducing emissions globally, availability of adequate funding on climate change, involving the local and regional authorities to develop policies, and use of renewable energy sources. They also stress increasing the capacity of nations to cope with climatic hazards such as raising public awareness of climate change and building a healthy infrastructure. In this way, the atlas is unique because it provides not merely the technical data but also interprets it in a broader perspective inviting thoughts and actions. The atlas is a great resource for climatologists, researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students to obtain scientific data on climate change. It is also useful for the general public to easily understand the basic issues related to the complicated and technical knowledge of climate change. The authors have also explained the scientific terminology used in the atlas so that a non-specialist reader can understand the atlas with ease.

Conspicuous redemption? Reflections on the promises and perils of the ‘Celebritization’ of climate change

With rising public awareness of climate change, celebrities have become an increasingly important community of non nation-state ‘actors’ influencing discourse and action, thereby comprising an emergent climate science–policy–celebrity complex. Some feel that these amplified and prominent voices contribute to greater public understanding of climate change science, as well as potentially catalyze climate policy cooperation. However, critics posit that increased involvement from the entertainment industry has not served to influence substantive long-term advancements in these arenas; rather, it has instead reduced the politics of climate change to the domain of fashion and fad, devoid of political and public saliency. Through tracking media coverage in Australia, Canada, the United States, and United Kingdom, we map out the terrain of a ‘Politicized Celebrity System’ in attempts to cut through dualistic characterizations of celebrity involvement in politics. We develop a classification system of the various types of climate change celebrity activities, and situate movements in contemporary consumer- and spectacle-driven carbon-based society. Through these analyses, we place dynamic and contested interactions in a spatially and temporally-sensitive ‘Cultural Circuits of Climate Change Celebrities’ model. In so doing, first we explore how these newly ‘authorized’ speakers and ‘experts’ might open up spaces in the public sphere and the science/policy nexus through ‘celebritization’ effects. Second, we examine how the celebrity as the ‘heroic individual’ seeking ‘conspicuous redemption’ may focus climate change actions through individualist frames. Overall, this paper explores potential promises, pitfalls and contradictions of this increasingly entrenched set of ‘agents’ in the cultural politics of climate change. Thus, as a form of climate change action, we consider whether it is more effective to ‘plant’ celebrities instead of trees.

Climate change adaptation and regional forest planning in southern Yukon, Canada

Recent interest in sustainable forest management planning in the Yukon has coincided with growing public awareness of climate change, providing an opportunity to explore how forestry plans are incorporating climate change. In this paper, the Strategic Forest Management Plans for the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Traditional Territory (CATT) and the Teslin Tlingit Traditional Territory (TTTT) are examined for evidence of adaptation to climate change. For each plan, management policies and practices that are also recognized as ways to adapt to climate change are identified to provide information on the incremental costs and benefits of additional adaptation efforts. A typology for classifying sustainable forest management plans according to how they address climate change is proposed and applied to the CATT and TTTT plans. This typology, which may be useful to any future retrospective assessments on how successful these or other sustainable forest management plans have been in addressing and managing the risks posed by climate change, consists of a matrix that categorizes plans into one of four types; (1) proactive-direct, (2) proactive-indirect, (3) reactive-direct, and (4) reactive-indirect. Neither of the plans available for the southern Yukon explicitly identifies climate change vulnerabilities and actions that will be taken to reduce those vulnerabilities and manage risks. However, both plans have incorporated some examples of ‘best management practices’ for sustainable forest management that are also consistent with appropriate climate adaptation responses. Even in a jurisdiction facing rapid ecological changes driven by climate change, where there is a relatively high level of awareness of climate change and its implications, forestry planning processes have yet to grapple directly with the risks that climate change may pose to the ability of forest managers to achieve the stated goals and objectives of sustainable forest management plans.