Stolen Future, Broken Present

This book argues that climate change has a devastating effect on how we think about the future. Once several positive feedback loops in Earth’s dynamic systems, such as the melting of the Arctic icecap or the drying of the Amazon, cross the point of no return, the biosphere is likely to undergo seve...

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Autor principal: A. Collings, David
Formato: Online
Lenguaje:inglés
Publicado: Open Humanities Press 2021
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Acceso en línea:502333
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author A. Collings, David
author_browse A. Collings, David
author_facet A. Collings, David
author_sort A. Collings, David
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description This book argues that climate change has a devastating effect on how we think about the future. Once several positive feedback loops in Earth’s dynamic systems, such as the melting of the Arctic icecap or the drying of the Amazon, cross the point of no return, the biosphere is likely to undergo severe and irreversible warming. Nearly everything we do is premised on the assumption that the world we know will endure into the future and provide a sustaining context for our activities. But today the future of a viable biosphere, and thus the purpose of our present activities, is put into question. A disappearing future leads to a broken present, a strange incoherence in the feel of everyday life. We thus face the unprecedented challenge of salvaging a basis for our lives today. That basis, this book argues, may be found in our capacity to assume an infinite responsibility for ecological disaster and, like the biblical Job, to respond with awe to the alien voice that speaks from the whirlwind. By owning disaster and accepting our small place within the inhuman forces of the biosphere, we may discover how to live with responsibility and serenity whatever may come.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-349692025-01-25T13:17:47Z Stolen Future, Broken Present A. Collings, David climate change Ecosystem Greenhouse gas thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RN The environment::RNP Pollution and threats to the environment::RNPG Climate change This book argues that climate change has a devastating effect on how we think about the future. Once several positive feedback loops in Earth’s dynamic systems, such as the melting of the Arctic icecap or the drying of the Amazon, cross the point of no return, the biosphere is likely to undergo severe and irreversible warming. Nearly everything we do is premised on the assumption that the world we know will endure into the future and provide a sustaining context for our activities. But today the future of a viable biosphere, and thus the purpose of our present activities, is put into question. A disappearing future leads to a broken present, a strange incoherence in the feel of everyday life. We thus face the unprecedented challenge of salvaging a basis for our lives today. That basis, this book argues, may be found in our capacity to assume an infinite responsibility for ecological disaster and, like the biblical Job, to respond with awe to the alien voice that speaks from the whirlwind. By owning disaster and accepting our small place within the inhuman forces of the biosphere, we may discover how to live with responsibility and serenity whatever may come. 2021-02-10T12:58:18Z 2014-12-31 23:55:55 2019-11-28 16:10:49 2020-04-01T14:41:15Z 2014 book 502333 OCN: 895276971 http://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/33360 9781607853145 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/34969 eng Critical Climate Change open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33360/1/502333.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33360/1/502333.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33360/1/502333.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33360/1/502333.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/33360/1/502333.pdf Open Humanities Press 10.3998/ohp.12832550.0001.001 10.3998/ohp.12832550.0001.001 d3c5bd18-f778-4237-a73b-dd99e8cf7c24 9781607853145 242 open access
spellingShingle climate change
Ecosystem
Greenhouse gas
thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RN The environment::RNP Pollution and threats to the environment::RNPG Climate change
A. Collings, David
Stolen Future, Broken Present
title Stolen Future, Broken Present
title_full Stolen Future, Broken Present
title_fullStr Stolen Future, Broken Present
title_full_unstemmed Stolen Future, Broken Present
title_short Stolen Future, Broken Present
title_sort stolen future broken present
topic climate change
Ecosystem
Greenhouse gas
thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RN The environment::RNP Pollution and threats to the environment::RNPG Climate change
topic_facet climate change
Ecosystem
Greenhouse gas
thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RN The environment::RNP Pollution and threats to the environment::RNPG Climate change
url 502333
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