Andrew, The group might wish to be awareof this response given by Ken Caldeira to an article in The Guardian last year authored by Clive Hamilton: http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering/msg/f61a0cf43cf2fe6f
Clive Hamilton also had a similar but shorter version of the article in the New Scientist in the 21st July 2010 edition. Chris. On Jun 19, 7:19 pm, Andrew Lockley <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/events/events/main/talk_by_clive_... > > Event: Talk on Geoengineering by Clive Hamilton > Date & Time: 27th Jun 2011 4:00pm-5:30pm > > Description: > Clive Hamilton (an Academic Visitor based at the Oxford Uehiro Centre) > is to give a talk for the Oxford Geoengineering Programme as follows: > Venue: Oxford Martin School, Old Indian Institute (corner of Holywell > and Catte Streets), 34 Broad Street.http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/contact/ > Title: Rethinking Geoengineering and the Meaning of the Climate Crisis > Abstract: This paper develops a critique of the consequentialist > approach to the ethics of geoengineering, the approach that deploys > assessment of costs and benefits in a risk framework to justify > climatic intervention. > He argues that there is a strong case for preferring the natural, and > that the unique and highly threatening character of global warming > renders the standard approach to the ethics of climate change > unsustainable. Moreover, the unstated metaphysical assumption of > conventional ethical, economic and policy thinking—modernity’s idea of > the autonomous human subject analyzing and acting on an inert external > world—is the basis for the kind of “technological thinking” that lies > at the heart of the climate crisis. > Technological thinking both projects a systems framework onto the > natural world and frames it as a catalogue of resources for the > benefit of humans. Recent discoveries by Earth system science > itself—the arrival of the Anthropocene, the prevalence of > non-linearities, and the deep complexity of the earth’s processes—hint > at the inborn flaws in this kind of thinking. The grip of > technological thinking explains why it has been so difficult for us to > heed the warnings of climate science and why the idea of using > technology to take control of the earth’s atmosphere is immediately > appealing. > Brief Bio: Clive Hamilton is Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre > for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) and holds the newly > created Vice-Chancellor's Chair at Charles Sturt University, > Australia. He was the Founder and for 14 years the Executive Director > of The Australia Institute, a public interest think tank. He is well > known in Australia as a public intellectual and for his contributions > to public policy debate. His extensive publications include writings > on climate change policy, overconsumption, welfare policy and the > effects of commercialisation. Recent publications include The Freedom > Paradox: Towards a post-secular ethics and Requiem for a Species: Why > we resist the truth about climate change > All welcome, no booking required. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
