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Death Bt A Thousand Coasts : The Ethics Of Climate Change |
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WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Sep. 12 -/E-Wire/-- Al Gore's docu-drama "An Inconvenient Truth" presents countless disturbing scenarios about our planet's ultimate threat: self-destruction by its dominant species, Homo sapiens. As Gore points out, this is not just a political issue. It is a moral issue an ethically based tipping point of gargantuan proportions. As the leaders, researchers, teachers, city planners and parents of the generations who will be most drastically affected by these dangers, we are compelled to take action against this global destruction.
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An interdisciplinary team of renowned earth and social scientists will gather in Washington, DC this autumn to discuss local, regional and international responses to the imminent threats of climate change and the ethics surrounding these issues. Designed for academic researchers, city government leaders, planners and emergency managers, the symposium Death by a Thousand Coasts: The Ethics of Climate Change (www.ir-symposia.com) is sponsored by the international e-journal Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics (www.esep.de), its parent organization, the Eco-Ethics International Union (www.eeiu.org), and the Inter-Research Science Centre (www.int-res.com).
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While the scientific aspects of climate change have received significant attention, little focus has been placed on the underlying themes of this change: humankind and its relationship to the environment. The symposium aims to promote public dialogue about the science, history, ecology, economics, politics and ethics of climate change.
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In opening discussions, climatologists will highlight the newest data available on atmospheric and ocean systems and rates of climate change. For instance, a recent report from the United States National Academy of Sciences, entitled, Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years, states that 'Based on current estimates, variations in natural climate forcings over the last 2,000 years were much less than the increase in current greenhouse forcing due to human activities.' (pg 102, http://fermat.nap.edu/catalog/11676.html). Thus, the most recent evidence indicates that climate change - driven by human activity - is upon us: ice sheets are melting, oceans are warming, sea levels are rising, deserts are expanding, and hurricanes are intensifying.
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The symposium will bring together social scientists, who will demonstrate the fates of past civilizations that failed to cope with climate changes, with ecologists who will outline impacts on endangered habitats and species. Economists will detail the financial strains of adapting to the increased dimensions and rates of climate change. Municipalities and regions must act now to protect lives and property and to assure future economic sustainability and growth. Will their actions be ethical? How many times can a port be rebuilt before the economy collapses? Is it ethical to try? Is it ethical to put taxpayer money at risk in government-guaranteed insurance pools? Is it ethical to invest retirees' money in property that is threatened by rising sea levels and increased storm surges or that lays below the 1000-year flood plane? What about the politics of climate change? Have Republicans', Democrats' and conservatives' actions and inactions put Americans at risk? What of the politics of climate change elsewhere in the world, including the developing world?
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We invite you to join world-renowned experts to discuss these issues : November 24-27, 2006 at the Melrose Hotel, 2430 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20037 (www.ir-symposia.com). Contact Info:
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Brian Marcotte, PhD
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Co-Director - EEIU
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Tel : 207-899-2791
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E-mail : eeiu@eeiu.org Website : Eco-Ethics International Union
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/SOURCE:
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Eco-Ethics International Union |
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09-12-2006 |
/CONTACT:
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Brian Marcotte, PhD
Co-Director - EEIU
Tel : 207-899-2791
E-mail : eeiu@eeiu.org |
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http://www.eeiu.org
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