karen_obrien_talk | CU-Boulder Environmental Studies Program

Karen O’Brien Talk

Fri May 18, 2012. 01:30 pm - 02:30 pm
Main Auditorium NCAR Foot Hills Laboratory

Boulder Flatirons from the south

Category: Lecture

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Event Details

Karen O’Brien Talk

Fri May 18, 2012. 01:30 pm - 02:30 pm
Main Auditorium NCAR Foot Hills Laboratory

Ethical Transformation in Response to Climate Change

Karen O'Brien, Professor of Sociology and Human Geography; University of Oslo, Norway

Main Auditorium NCAR Foot Hills Laboratory 3450 Mitchell Lane Boulder CO 80301

The talk will address the following issues • Importance of metaperspectives (the bigger picture, the longer story) • Integration of perspectives, disciplines, and “ways of knowing” ? Transdisciplinarity • What is transformation and why is it important that it is deliberative, ethical and equitable? • How do we approach change, and how can we change our approaches to change? • Why do worldviews, beliefs and values matter? • What are the leverage points for large-scale, systemic change? • What is our role as scientists?

Karen O’Brien's research has focused on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation and the implications for human security, as well as on the relationships between globalization and environmental change. Her current research looks at the relationship between personal, cultural, organizational and systems transformation, including how transdisciplinary and integral approaches to global change research can contribute to a better understanding of how societies both create and respond to change. She has participated in the IPCC Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports, as well as the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX). She has written and edited a number of books, including Environmental Change and Globalization: Double Exposures (Oxford, 2008), Adapting to Climate Change: Thresholds, Values, Governance (Cambridge, 2009) and Climate Change, Ethics, and Human Security (Cambridge, 2010).

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