Cooperation Between Natural Science and Social Science

Murphy, Raymond

A brief summary of the natural science understanding of the gravity and urgency of climate change is presented as an essential building block for the social science analysis in subsequent chapters. It documents that fossil-fuel emissions are the principal causes and the atmosphere is the main carbon sink. It shows that concepts like the net change in atmospheric carbon (emissions compared to carbon withdrawals) and carbon budget are more valid than oft-used, misleading indicators of improvement like carbon intensity (emissions per GDP). The chapter documents differences in emissions for various types of fossil fuels, including different types of oil. It elucidates limitations of the social influence of science, particularly its contradictory characteristics as ineffective when warning of danger yet inspiring faith in its omnipotence to master nature so as to maintain fossil-fuelled practices. The chapter also assesses the concept of the Anthropocene.