Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The future greenhouse gas production
- 2 Changing energy efficiency
- 3 Zero-emission technologies
- 4 Geoengineering the climate
- 5 Ocean sequestration
- 6 Increasing land sinks
- 7 Adaptation
- 8 The past and the future
- Appendices
- Further reading
- References
- Index
- Plate section
7 - Adaptation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The future greenhouse gas production
- 2 Changing energy efficiency
- 3 Zero-emission technologies
- 4 Geoengineering the climate
- 5 Ocean sequestration
- 6 Increasing land sinks
- 7 Adaptation
- 8 The past and the future
- Appendices
- Further reading
- References
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
Introduction
The previous chapters looked at how to manage climate change by a number of different approaches. We considered controlling greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere or adjusting the solar radiation reflected from the earth back into space. Instead of trying to manage the anthropogenic climate change, the human race could simply adapt to the changes. This option does not seem to have received the attention that it deserves. This is especially true since adaptation is the likely outcome of a lack of resolve to avoid climate change. Lack of resolve comes about from a number of causes. There is uncertainty about the impacts of climate change. There are ‘ethical’ questions that have been raised about mitigation options. There are people who have decided that reduced consumption is the ‘politically correct’ behaviour, and harangue others to change their way of living. They oppose schemes to store carbon dioxide and the continued use of fossil fuels. Voluntary reduction of consumption is unlikely to be adopted. There are anti-capitalists who do not want solutions that provide avenues for increased profit. All these diverse opinions inhibit the investment in technology for mitigation.
Climate change can be divided into three categories. First is the slow rate of change that has historically occurred. Changes are small over a human lifetime and are not recognised by the bulk of the people. The human race has adapted to these changes with little problem.
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- Engineering Strategies for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation , pp. 124 - 140Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011