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The Very Useful Notion: A Rhetorical History of the Idea of Human-Made Climate Change, 1950-2000
Title
The Very Useful Notion: A Rhetorical History of the Idea of Human-Made Climate Change, 1950-2000.
Creator
Brooten, Gary, Marin, Noemi, Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description
This dissertation tests an original hybrid methodology to explore the rapid spread of the idea of human-made climate change that began in the 1950s after the idea had lain dormant for half a century. It describes the 1950s rhetorical events that triggered the idea’s diffusion, then traces how its rhetorical uses gradually gave root to the end-of-thecentury political impasse over how to respond to the societal implications of the idea. The research methodology rests on the simple logic that an...
Show moreThis dissertation tests an original hybrid methodology to explore the rapid spread of the idea of human-made climate change that began in the 1950s after the idea had lain dormant for half a century. It describes the 1950s rhetorical events that triggered the idea’s diffusion, then traces how its rhetorical uses gradually gave root to the end-of-thecentury political impasse over how to respond to the societal implications of the idea. The research methodology rests on the simple logic that an idea can only spread by being used in human discourses. It combines traditions of rhetorical historiography with a philosophical view of intellectual history as the cumulative effect of a “natural selection” of ideas and their spread by human individuals over time and geography. It calls for sampling and analyzing rhetorical artifacts in light of the rhetorical situations in which they originate, focusing on how the idea of human-made climate change is used rhetorically in scientific and other discourses. The analyses form the basis of a narrative giving emphasis both to rhetorical continuities and to conversation-changing rhetorical events. They also show how these rhetorical dynamics involve interactions of human communities using or attacking the idea for their communal purposes. The results challenge science-focused understandings of the history of the idea itself and also suggest that the methodology may be more broadly useful. As to the history, the analyses highlight how changes in the rhetorical uses of the idea made possible its 1950s breakout in climate science, then led to uses that spread it into other sciences and into environmentalism in the 1960s, attached it to apocalyptic environmentalism in the 1970s, injected it into partisan politics in 1980s and shaped the political impasse during the 1990s. The data show that the methodology reveals elements of the discourses missed in histories emphasizing the “power of ideas,” suggesting that a focus on the usefulness of ideas may be more fruitful. A focus on rhetorical uses of ideas grounds the causation of intellectual change in human motivation and agency, expressed in material acts that multiply and disperse naturally through communities and populations.
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Date Issued
2016
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004691, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004691
Subject Headings
Climate change mitigation, Climatic changes -- Philosophy, Climatic changes -- Social aspects, Global environmental change, Human beings -- Effect of climate on, Rhetorical criticism
Format
Document (PDF)
Public Perception of Health Risks Related to Climate Change in Broward County, Florida
Title
Public Perception of Health Risks Related to Climate Change in Broward County, Florida.
Creator
Buck, Jeanmarie A. Steckler, Cameron, Mary, Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of Anthropology
Abstract/Description
Scholars agree that global climate change is a major threat to the physical environment, affecting all aspects of life on the planet. However, the general public do not feel that climate change is a major risk or threat, especially to humans. It is important to understand the public’s perception and opinions of climate change as it affects and influences the creation and passing of climate change adaptation and mitigation policies. Specifically, little is known about public perceptions in...
Show moreScholars agree that global climate change is a major threat to the physical environment, affecting all aspects of life on the planet. However, the general public do not feel that climate change is a major risk or threat, especially to humans. It is important to understand the public’s perception and opinions of climate change as it affects and influences the creation and passing of climate change adaptation and mitigation policies. Specifically, little is known about public perceptions in regards to the greater health risk imposed by global climate change. This study examines the public's perception of health risks related to climate change in Broward County, Florida by using mixed methods. An online survey was conducted along with in-person interviews with the general public and a physician. The study found majority of respondents to believe climate change affects health, but lacked an understanding of how it is harmful to their health. It also found that gender affects their perceptions and political ideology appears to have an effect, but the effect of socioeconomic status on their perceptions were unable to be determined at this time. Broward is just developing policies to adapt and mitigate the health effects of climate change.
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Date Issued
2017
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004813, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004813
Subject Headings
Environmental health--Florida--Broward County., Health risk assessment--Florida--Broward County., Human beings--Effect of climate on., Climatic changes--Health aspects., Social change--Health aspects., Global warming--Health aspects., Public health surveillance--Florida--Broward County.
Format
Document (PDF)