Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Are Safe Social Practices on the Horizon?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Fossil-Fuelled Climate Crisis

  • 226 Accesses

Abstract

There are many grounds for hope that the climate crisis can be mitigated if societies are willing to pay the costs and make the sacrifices. The chapter documents where this has happened in other areas: air and water in cities are cleaner today than after the industrial revolution, smallpox has been eradicated, there are many international agreements. But it also uncovers logical flaws and empirical weaknesses in Beck’s abstract theory that the anticipation of global climate catastrophe will emancipate humanity. In particular, he mistakes changed discourse for changed practices. The chapter then turns to the more concrete level, and assesses cases of foresight prevailing where the economy has been reconciled with the environment, such as through successful carbon taxes, feed-in tariffs, coal industries transformed into prosperous wind energy industries and other private sector solutions, mitigation by Nordic social democratic societies and by California, the Kigali Agreement, etc. Nevertheless global warming is worsening, so mitigation needs to increase and be scaled up.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abramovitz, J. 2001. Unnatural Disasters. Washington: World Watch Paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, Peter. 2008. Climate Solutions: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, U. 2007. World at Risk. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, U. 2015. Emancipatory Catastrophism. Current Sociology 63 (1): 75–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blok, Anders. 2015. Towards Cosmopolitan Middle-Range Theorizing. Current Sociology 63 (1): 110–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumenthal, P. 2014. Mary Landrieu’s Fossil Fuel Stance Both a Blessing and a Curse in 2014 Election Bid. Huffington Post, 2 October. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/02/mary-landrieu-2014-election_n_5921010.html. Accessed 26 August 2016.

  • Bullard, R.D. 2000. Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality, 3rd ed. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullard, R.D. 2005. The Quest for Environmental Justice: Human Rights, and the Politics of Pollution. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullard, R.D., and B. Wright (eds.). 2009. Race, Place and Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler, R. 2012. Global Gini Index. All Data from the CIA World Factbook. http://www.mongabay.com/reference/stats/rankings/2172.html. Accessed 2 July 2012.

  • Byers, Michael. 2019. Watch This Space. Globe and Mail, 27 July: O3.

    Google Scholar 

  • CDC (Centers for Disease Control). 2016. History of Smallpox. Washington: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html. Accessed 10 May 2020.

  • Claisse, Frédéric, and Pierre Delvenne. 2015. Building on Anticipation: Dystopia as Empowerment. Current Sociology 63 (2): 155–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, N. 2011. Inhuman Nature. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dauncey, Guy. 2009. The Climate Challenge: 101 Solutions to Global Warming. Victoria, BC: New Society Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, Jared. 2005. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunlap, Riley E., and Peter J. Jacques. 2013. Climate Change Denial Books and Conservative Think Tanks: Exploring the Connection. American Behavioral Scientist 57: 699–731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunlap, R., A. McCright, and J. Yarosh. 2016. The Political Divide on Climate Change: Partisan Polarization Widens in the U.S. Environment Science and Policy for Sustainable Development 58 (5): 4–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elsasser, Shaun W., and Riley E. Dunlap. 2013. Leading Voices in the Denier Choir: Conservative Columnists’ Dismissal of Global Warming and Denigration of Climate Science. American Behavioral Scientist 57: 754–776.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flannery, Tim. 2015. Atmosphere of Hope: Searching for Solutions to the Climate Crisis. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freudenburg, W. 2006. Environmental Degradation, Disproportionality, and the Double Diversion. Rural Sociology 71 (1): 3–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freudenburg, W., and R. Gramling. 2011. Blowout in the Gulf. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freudenburg, William, Robert Gramling, Shirley Laska, and Kai Erikson. 2009. Catastrophe in the Making. Washington: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Funk, McKenzie. 2014. Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, Anthony. 2009. The Politics of Climate Change. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Han, Sang-Jin. 2015. Emancipatory Catastrophism from an East Asian Perspective. Current Sociology 63 (1): 115–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, Hal, and Robbie Orbis. 2018. Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy. Washington: Island Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hawken, Paul. 2017. Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Immen, Wallace. 2019. Solar Panels Help Retail Property Owners Tap into Savings. Globe and Mail, 6 August: B6.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services). 2019. Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Bonn: IPBES. https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/2020-02/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers_en.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2020.

  • Jaccard, M. 2005. Sustainable Fossil Fuels. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, Tim. 2009. Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet. London: Earthscan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jacques, Peter, Riley E. Dunlap, and Mark Freeman. 2008. The Organization of Denial: Conservative Think Tanks and Environmental Scepticism. Environmental Politics 17: 349–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, Naomi. 2017. No Is Not Enough. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klenert, David, Linus Mattauch, Emmanuel Combet, Ottmar Edenhofer, Cameron Hepburn, Ryan Rafaty, and Nicholas Stern. 2018. Making Carbon Pricing Work for Citizens. Nature Climate Change 8: 669–677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Hanerou, Philippe, and Paul Lamontagne. 2019. Canadian Firms Must Adopt a Common Standard for Impact Investing. Globe and Mail, 3 August: B6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, Mark. 2019. Wells, Wires, and Wheels—EROCI and the Tough Road Ahead for Oil. BNP Paribas Asset Management, August. Paris: BNP Paribus. https://docfinder.bnpparibas-am.com/api/files/1094E5B9-2FAA-47A3-805D-EF65EAD09A7F. Accessed 15 April 2020.

  • Lomborg, Bjorn. 2010. Smart Solutions to Climate Change: Comparing Costs and Benefits. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, Shawn. 2019. Zurich Insurance to Pivot Investment Away from Oil Sands. Globe and Mail, 26 June: B3.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, Shawn, and Jeff Lewis. 2019. Ottawa, California Target Vehicle Fuel Efficiency as Part of New Clean-Transportation Partnership. Globe and Mail, 27 June: B2.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNichol, Elizabeth, Douglas Hall, David Cooper, and Vincent Palacios. 2012. Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 15 November.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mileti, D. 1999. Disasters by Design. Washington: James Henry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mol, A.P.J., D. Sonnenfeld, and G. Spaargaren. 2009. The Ecological Modernisation Reader: Environmental Reform in Theory and Practice. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moser, Susanne C., and Maxwell T. Boykoff (eds.). 2013. Successful Adaptation to Climate Change: Linking Science and Policy in a Rapidly Changing World. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, Raymond. 2009. Leadership in Disaster: Learning for a Future with Global Climate Change. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nordhaus, William. 2013. The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pielke, Roger Jr. 2010. The Climate Fix. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piketty, T. 2014. Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Harvard.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pink, Ross Michael. 2018. The Climate Change Crisis: Solutions and Adaptations for a Planet in Peril. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Platt, R. 1999. Disasters and Democracy. Washington: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinlan, Kevin. 2019. Why Canada Needs Climate Stress Testing. Globe and Mail, 3 October: B4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramish, Mridula. 2018. The Ultimate Solution: India’s Climate Change Crisis and What We Can Do About It.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rand, Tom. 2010. Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit: Ten Clean Technologies to Save our World. Toronto: Eco Ten Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rand, Tom. 2014. Waking the Frog: Solutions for Our Climate Change Paralysis. Toronto: ECW Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rand, Tom. 2018. A Sound Debate About Canada’s Emissions, Brought on by Fury Over Trans Mountain. Globe and Mail, 3 May: B4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reguly, Eric. 2019. From Black to Green Energy. Corporate Knights, Spring: 39–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, J.T., and Bradley Parks. 2007. A Climate of Injustice: Global Inequality, North-South Politics, and Climate Policy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, Clyde. 2019. Will BHP’s Bid to Cut Emissions Inspire Others to Follow Suit? Globe and Mail, 30 July: B4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, S. 2009. Science as a Contact Sport. Washington: National Geographic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, Jeffrey, Mark Jaccard, and Nic Rivers. 2007. Hot Air: Meeting Canada’s Climate Change Challenge. Toronto: Emblem McClelland & Stewart.

    Google Scholar 

  • Speth, James Gustave. 2009. The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Speth, James Gustave. 2012. America the Possible: Manifest for a New Economy. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, Q.T., and R. Ray. 2007. Hurricane Katrina and the Race Flood. Race, Gender and Class 14 (1–2): 38–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Superstorm Research Lab. 2014. A Tale of Two Sandys. White Paper, December. New York. https://superstormresearchlab.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/srl-a-tale-of-two-sandys.pdf. Accessed 13 February 2015.

  • Suzuki, David, and Ian Hanington. 2017. Just Cool It: The Climate Crisis and What We Can Do. Vancouver and Berkeley: Greystone Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suzuki, David, and Dave Robert Taylor. 2009. The Big Picture: Reflections on Science, Humanity, and a Quickly Changing Planet. Vancouver: Greystone Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tenner, E. 1997. Why Things Bite Back. New York: Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, Chris. 2019. “Energiewende”, or Energy Transition, Is the Word on Everyone’s Lips in Germany. Globe and Mail, 1 June: O1, O9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, B., and N. Pidgeon. 1978. Man-Made Disasters. London: Wykeham.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yale University. 2018. EPI Environmental Performance Index 2018. https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-country-report/CAN. Accessed 22 September 2019.

  • Yearley, Steven. 1992. Green Ambivalence About Science. British Journal of Sociology 3: 511–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yearley, Steven. 2004. Making Sense of Science. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Raymond Murphy

Authors
  1. Raymond Murphy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Raymond Murphy .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Murphy, R. (2021). Are Safe Social Practices on the Horizon?. In: The Fossil-Fuelled Climate Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53325-0_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53325-0_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-53324-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-53325-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation