The Duck of Minerva

Thursday Linkage: Slouching towards Semester’s End

Featured

by Josh Busby

4 April 2014, 0104 EDT

While Amanda is a glutton for punishment with both ISA and Midwest appearances, my wife and I are tag-teaming it – ISA for me and Midwest for her. In between diaper changes, Finding Nemo, and oatmeal, here is what I’m reading. Cambridge refuses to publish book on Putin for fear of libel, the IPCC Fifth Assessment report on climate change impacts is out, Japan cancels a whale hunt after ICJ ruling, China bags clean mountain air, no climate change at this year’s G20, and more.

Putin, Cambridge, and Britain’s Libel Laws

  • Loose libel laws in Britain compel Cambridge University Press to cancel publication of a scholarly book on Russia accusing Putin of corruption

Climate Change and the IPCC Fifth Assessment: Working Group II Rides Again

  • The IPCC Fifth Assessment report from the working group on impacts is out. Includes chapter on human security for first time (see my Monkey Cage blog post on this, I will write another one here soon)

ICJ, Japan, and Whaling

  • The International Court of Justice rules Japan’s whaling is not science-based, says to shut it down, Japan to comply

 

China’s Air Quality is So Bad: How Bad Is It?

  • China’s air quality is so bad, entrepreneurs are bagging clean mountain air

A Response to 538 and Pielke on Climate and Disasters

  • Scientist Kerry Emanuel responds to Roger Pielke, Jr.’s claim on 538 that there is no detectable climate signal in disaster damage data

Suppose observations showed conclusively that the bear population in a particular forest had recently doubled. What would we think of someone who, knowing this, would nevertheless take no extra precautions in walking in the woods unless and until he saw a significant upward trend in the rate at which his neighbors were being mauled by bears?…One would be foolish to make plans that have to deal with U.S. hurricane risk without accounting for the evidence that the underlying risk is increasing, whether or not actuarial trends have yet emerged at the 95 percent confidence level.

Australia, Abbott, and the G20: No Climate for You

  • G20 Host Australia’s prime minister doesn’t want to talk about climate change at this year’s G20, too much clutter in the agenda

Jane Goodall is 80

 

 

Joshua Busby is a Professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Austin. From 2021-2023, he served as a Senior Advisor for Climate at the U.S. Department of Defense. His most recent book is States and Nature: The Effects of Climate Change on Security (Cambridge, 2023). He is also the author of Moral Movements and Foreign Policy (Cambridge, 2010) and the co-author, with Ethan Kapstein, of AIDS Drugs for All: Social Movements and Market Transformations (Cambridge, 2013). His main research interests include transnational advocacy and social movements, international security and climate change, global public health and HIV/ AIDS, energy and environmental policy, and U.S. foreign policy.

0 Comments