Re: Highly relevant (not-to-be-missed) topics on Global Environmental Politics?
I would add the environmental security perspective: that some environmental problems have gotten to the point where they can threaten the security of a nation, a region, or the entire international system. Climate change is an excellent case in point, from the melting Arctic to changed disease vector ecology to the possibility of increased nuclear proliferation. In each instance, whether or not the nation has redefined security to include non-military threats, climate change will affect national security in ways that national military forces will have to address. It won't necessarily require a separate module of your course, but you can point out the security ramifications of some of the larger issues (water, food, energy, climate) as you go along. -Beth __ Elizabeth L. Chalecki, PhD Visiting Asst Professor, International Studies Program Boston College 213 Carney Hall 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 chalecki [at] bc.edu elizabeth.chalecki [at] gmail.com On Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 5:00 PM, Don Munton mun...@unbc.ca wrote: My suggestion for a key topic would be that, early on in the course, you focus on the widespread assumption that global environmental politics is mostly about the problems of cooperating on commons (or common property) issues, such as ozone depletion and climate change. There are actually very few true global commons. The upper atmosphere is one of them, along with the high seas. Many of the other issues we talk about in these courses, however, are not really commons problems. Rather, they are problems that significantly or mostly fall within national jurisdiction, for which there may or may not be relevant international environmental regimes (eg, MARPOL, transport of hazardous wastes, including e-wastes, etc), regimes which may or may not be effective. The common idea that commons problems are the most difficult ones to tackle is, I would argue, not necessarily the case - witness ozone depletion versus (lack of) cooperation on forests (for many states, a quintessentially national jurisdiction issue). I think the commons topic is key in the sense it both introduces a basic concept/question/debate and in the sense that you can keep coming back to it as you deal with specific issues/cases. Don Munton UNBC -Original Message- From: owner-gep...@listserve1.allegheny.edu [mailto: owner-gep...@listserve1.allegheny.edu] On Behalf Of Raul Pacheco-Vega Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 12:19 AM To: gep-ed@listserve1.allegheny.edu Subject: Highly relevant (not-to-be-missed) topics on Global Environmental Politics? Dear all, It's been a while since I have participated in the GEP-ED discussions. Hoping the new semester is treating you well. I am hoping to teach for the very first time (fingers crossed) a Special Topics in International Relations with a focus on Global/International Environmental Politics this January (undergraduate level). I'm trying to design the syllabus in a way that I cover *most* of the highly relevant topics in GEP/IEP. I am hoping to do a cursory review of several international environmental treaties (Rotterdam, Stockholm, Kyoto and the Copenhagen COP 15 rounds). The question that has had me pondering for the past few weeks has been whether there are any *key* topics that I should not miss in a course like this. Climate change seems to have become a predominant topics in the GEP literature, yet my own research interests (hazardous waste, toxics, pollutant release inventories, wastewater) drive me to not want to focus solely on climate change. If you teach a GEP/IEP course, which subject topic would you say is a must? Thanks! Raul --
Re: The Age of Stupid Premiers
Yes, I went here in Boston, and the theater was packed (maybe because it was the only one accessible by public transit?). I found the film to be more than a little depressing! As far as scientific information goes, Al Gore did a better job in An Inconvenient Truth of explaining why climate change is happening and what are the scientific underpinnings of the theory, as well as providing a sense of hopefulness that the average viewer can yet take action. What Age of Stupid did was to paint some possible results of the worst-case warming scenario, and it did so in a very fatalistic manner, from the wind turbine guy in the UK to the French Alpine climber to the two Iraqi kids. I even saw some people in the theater crying at the end, when Pete Postlethwaite sends the Archive message into space. I couldn't stay for the New York-based QA after the film (nothing is sure in this world but death, taxes, and that the dog must be let out), so I don't know if they provided ideas for action, but future screenings of the film will not have a QA afterward. Overall, it's a good addition to the growing body of environmental films, but I'm afraid that it's hopeless tone will push the average person into a sense of futility. -Beth -- Elizabeth L. Chalecki Visiting Asst. Professor, International Studies Program Boston College Carney 213 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 chalecki [at] bc.edu elizabeth.chalecki [at] gmail.com On Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 10:34 PM, Alcock, Frank falc...@ncf.edu wrote: Did anyone besides myself see the film tonight? If so, what did you think? -- *From:* owner-gep...@listserve1.allegheny.edu on behalf of rldavis *Sent:* Sat 9/12/2009 4:48 PM *To:* NEES List; Global Environmental Education *Cc:* Monique Bosch *Subject:* The Age of Stupid Premiers Hi all-forgive me for cross posting. I wanted to bring the premier of a very important film to you attention. I was fortunate enough to see *The Age of Stupid* at a special showing for the attendees of the Climate Project’s Nashville Summit in March. At that time, it had only been released in the UK. It is a provocative, powerful, plausible, and disturbing film set in a post global warming world of 2055. From that perspective, it looks back at our own time, the “age of stupid” and chronicles 6 highly plausible (in fact, I see most of them actually going on now) stories that are interwoven to show how we got to a destroyed world. It is beautifully acted with Pete Postlethwaite as the principle and the production is excellent. About 20% fiction and 80% documentary. Here is the “blurb” from the web site: *The Age of Stupid* is the new four-year epic from McLibel director Franny Armstrong. Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance? *MORE * This will be premiered at a special showing at 400 theaters in North America on Monday 21 September at 7:30 eastern (6:30 central, etc.). I will be urging my own students to attend and I urge you to bring it to the attention of your students, friends, colleagues. You can get further information on both the film at the premier at the following web site: http://www.ageofstupid.net/screenings/country/United%20States the actual web site for the film (there is a link on the previous web site) is www.ageofstudpid.net. This site also talks about where to see the premier in 149 other countries around the world. For a review of the film from the *Sydney Herald* (it premiered in Aust and NZ in late August) go to http://www.ageofstupid.net/review/the_age_of_stupid_movie_review. Larry Davis
