All, This is a persisting problem in all of these analyses and plans: if something is technologically feasible, the logistics don't matter. For example, there is great enthusiasm for EVs in California, but no one seems to consider the sheer volume of things that have to happen, over what time frame and in what order. The collapse of commodity chains during the pandemic and their restoration now (there are ships in SF Bay waiting to unload because port capacity is set by normal times) illustrates that the kind of surge capacity that is required--and which will require lots of materials, too--is not in place and who is going to build it?
I have not seen any academic work about this, but the military probably has done work in terms of rapid deployments (not quite the kind of infrastructures, both material and institutional, that will be needed). Best, Ronnie On Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 10:32 AM Rafael Friedmann <[email protected]> wrote: > I heard a talk by the head of sustainability at Autocad about 2 years ago > at a HAAS/UC Berkeley event on the future of work. She showed the daunting > amounts of materials that would be used to further urbanize our growing > human population by 2050. Without rethinking very deeply what Earth can > provide sustainably, we will not be able to build a future that offers > wellbeing to most of humanity. Your point of the need to align the lovely > calls of Biden’s summit (and others) with how our economic systems are set > up and the infrastructure we continue to build (vested interests means we > always have too much inertia!), is right on the ball. > > > > I suspect that the reality check will need to partly come from Academia – > with quick analyses (we don’t have another 20 years to spare, actually, > can’t even spare one more!), coupled with social movements and the threat > of product boycotts as well as financial pressure—to get the actions needed > by both public and private sectors (as well as our own). > > > > Rafael > > > > Sent from Mail <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for > Windows 10 > > > > *From: *Debra Javeline <[email protected]> > *Sent: *Thursday, April 22, 2021 10:15 AM > *To: *[email protected] > *Subject: *[gep-ed] RE: Opinion: We Don't Need More Life-Crushing Steel > and Concrete > > > > Dear colleagues, > > > > Biden announced new commitments on climate action today, and it reminded > me that I received not a single response to my query below about the Biden > infrastructure plan. I wonder why. If the climate plans and the > infrastructure plans are not integrated, how can the climate plans > succeed? Is no one conducting research on the ideal infrastructure for a > climate-altered planet? > > > > All the best, > > Debra > > > > *From:* Debra Javeline <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Thursday, April 15, 2021 10:36 AM > *To:* '[email protected]' <[email protected]> > *Subject:* Opinion: We Don’t Need More Life-Crushing Steel and Concrete > > > > Dear colleagues, > > > > Paul Greenberg and Carl Safina have a compelling op-ed in the NYT, “We > Don’t Need More Life-Crushing Steel and Concrete: The long-term needs of > ecosystems should come before our knee-jerk expectations about > infrastructure > <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/opinion/infrastructure-biden-nature.html?fbclid=IwAR3sdOmAFMVPOp5vSgBUfgUBUP2zo4BlQ1O9pU71iEmnSYW3warBXHO5F5Q> > .” > > > > Is there any scholarship related to this topic? Presumably, those focused > on climate change even within Biden’s own government understand the > potential harms of an infrastructure program that ignores climate issues, > but is there a holistic approach, with the infrastructure people talking to > the climate-concerned? And is the conversation informed by good research > on what infrastructure *should* be rebuilt to maximize mitigation and > adaptation efforts? Does such research exist? Suggestions for specific > publications would be most welcome. > > > > All the best, > > Debra > > > > ***** > > Debra Javeline > > Associate Professor | Department of Political Science | University of > Notre Dame | 2060 Jenkins Nanovic Halls | Notre Dame, IN 46556 | tel: > 574-631-2793 <(574)%20631-2793> > > > > Fellow, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies > <http://kroc.nd.edu/>, Kellogg Institute for International Studies > <http://nd.edu/~kellogg/>, Nanovic Institute for European Studies > <http://nanovic.nd.edu/> > > Core faculty, Russian and East European Studies Program > <http://germanandrussian.nd.edu/russian/faculty/program-faculty/RussianandEastEuropeanStudies.shtml> > > Affiliated faculty, Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative > <http://environmentalchange.nd.edu/> > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "gep-ed" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gep-ed/8b77e9b1c5fed4acdfcc5d8923e55a1e%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gep-ed/8b77e9b1c5fed4acdfcc5d8923e55a1e%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "gep-ed" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gep-ed/5099CE0B-8ED2-49D8-9935-D0EBE78BF1F4%40hxcore.ol > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gep-ed/5099CE0B-8ED2-49D8-9935-D0EBE78BF1F4%40hxcore.ol?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- *A fly walks into a bar and asks, "Excuse me. Is this stool taken?"* Ronnie D. Lipschutz, President & Co-director, Sustainable Systems Research Foundation; <http://sustainablesystemsfoundation.org> Emeritus Professor of Politics, UC Santa Cruz e-mail: [email protected]; <[email protected]> web site: http://tinyurl.com/zeatctr Host, "Sustainability Now!" <https://ksqd.org/sustainabilitynow/> every other Sunday on KSQD 90.7FM & KSQD.org.(Shows archived at: https://ksqd.org/sustainabilitynow/) <https://sustainablesystemsfoundation.org/sustainability-now-broadcasts-on-ksqd-90-7-fm-ksqd-org/> *Read my latest book: Unhappy in Its Own Way--An Institutional Biography of UC Santa Cruz <https://sustainablesystemsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Unhappy.pdf>* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gep-ed" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gep-ed/CAOGWZTWZb7Xc6e_yq_FqDKCk3PW7mknHCoMfr5QL1j-1ntERiw%40mail.gmail.com.
