SCIENCE IN SOCIETY: CLIMATE CHANGE AND CLIMATE POLICIES

Hans von Storch and Nico Stehr, the authors of this anthology, reflect on the popular and scientific perception and construction of the phenomenon of climate, climate change, climate policy and the impact of climate on society. In the early 1990s, the authors encountered notable resistance to the idea of climate change, especially as they wrote about the urgent need for societal adaptation. Something is wrong with our planet, and it is obvious that this has to do with human conduct. Many, if not the majority, of countermeasures to climate impacts require the innovative capacity of science and technology. However, the translation of scientific knowledge into society is not an automatic or autonomous force. Moving science into society is subject to economic, political, and cultural constraints — a central issue of the book.

Nico Stehr is a sociologist specializing in the theory of modern society and the sociology of knowledge; Hans von Storch is a mathematician and is also a physical climate scientist. Since the authors 'inhabit' rather different scientific cultures, their collaboration is genuinely exemplary of transdisciplinary work. The book documents the interdisciplinary path and the wide range of themes that has occupied Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch during more than three decades of joint research and writing, which continues to benefit current research and reflection on the interrelation between nature, democracy, society, governance, and climate.

Contents:

• Preface
• About the Authors
• Introduction:
  • Context
  • Bridging the Two Cultures
  • Overview
• Social Construct of Climate and Climate Change:
  • The Social Construct of Climate and Climate Change (Nico Stehr and Hans von Stor)
  • The Case for the Social Sciences in Climate Research (Hans von Storch and Nico Stehr)
  • The Climate in the Public Mind (Hans von Storch and Nico Stehr)
  • Climate Research and Policy Advice: Scientific and Cultural Constructions of Knowledge (Hans von Storch)
• History of Ideas of Climate:
  • Climate Works: An Anatomy of a Disbanded Line of Research (Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch)
  • On the Power of Climate. Is Climate Determinism Just a History of Ideas or a Relevant Factor in Current Climate Policy? (Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch)
  • Eduard Brückner's Ideas — Relevant in His Time and Today (Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch)
  • Anthropogenic Climate Change: A Reason for Concern Since the 18th Century (Hans von Storch and Nico Stehr)
• Cultures of Science:
  • Climate Protection (Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch)
  • Micro/Macro and Soft/Hard: Diverging and Converging Issues in the Physical and Social Sciences (Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch)
  • The Physical Sciences and Climate Politics (Hans von Storch, Armin Bunde and Nico Stehr)
• Climate Policies:
  • Feasibility-Based Policies: Investigation Application (Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch)
  • Efficient Communication (Hans von Storch and Nico Stehr)
  • Climate Research and Climate Policy — Roles and Sustainability (Hans von Storch and Nico Stehr)
  • The Atmosphere of Democracy: Knowledge and Political Action (Nico Stehr)
  • A Very Blind Spot (Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch)
  • Adaptation versus Mitigation. On the Politics of Terminology in the Climate Discussion (Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch)
• Outlook:
  • Zeppelin Manifesto on Climate Protection from 2008 (Nico Stehr and Hans von Storch)
  • Ongoing Related Work by Nico Stehr
  • Ongoing Related Work by Hans von Storch
  • Practical Knowledge Acquired by Hans von Storch (Hans von Storch)
• Index

Readership: Anyone interested in the societal consequences of climate change. Students of modern society. Climate scientists. Policymakers.

Key Features:

• Key discussion of climate science in society. Governance of climate. Climate policies and climate science. Knowledge and politics. History of ideas of climate. The social construction of climate