Anthropocenes Impact on Energy Industry - Annotated Bibliography Example

Annotated Bibliography This paper presents an annotated bibliography of sources explaining the effect of Anthropocene on energy industry during recession period. Abrams, Lindsay. “Humanity’s epic planetary facelift: Climate change, mass extinction and the uncertain future of life on earth”. Salon, 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.salon.com/2014/11/15/humanitys_epic_planetary_facelift_climate_change_mass_extinction_and_the_uncertain_future_of_life_on_earth/ The above source contains a responses to an interview made by a journalist called Salon to Gaia Vince regarding the contents of her book titled “Adventures in the Anthropocene” and also her other views towards Anthropocene. In her responses, Vince starts with giving the definition of Anthropocene. Also, Vince explains his view towards the moral approach towards Anthropocene. Vince explains how he feels about the how people respond to his book. In addition, Vince gives a detailed explanation of the solutions that people have come up with for the problem of climate change. She gives solutions such as stopping deforestation and planting trees. As well, Vince talks about geoengineering ad its impact on climate change. According to Vince, cloud-seeding in countries such as China is contributing immensely to climate change. As a result, the condition of the air is currently quite different from the way it was 100 years back. As such, Vince opines that strategies should be taken to reduce or prevent carbon emissions that lead to climate change. In order to achieve this end, Vince argues that governments from different countries should work together to reduce carbon emissions and any other form of pollution. Vince argues that people should start using energy sources that do not lead to significant pollution. The source is relevant for research in various ways. Firstly, it is relevant since it gives a definition and description of Anthropocene. Secondly, the responses of Vince provide a general understanding of the relationship between Anthropocene and the energy industry. It explains how the energy industry contributes to climate change. In addition, the source gives an explanation of the impacts of some of the aspects of Anthropocene. However, the source has several weaknesses. To start with, the source does not give a precise explanation of the effects of energy industry during the recession period. Secondly, the source cannot be regarded as very reliable. This is due to the fact that it contains opinions that have not gone through peer review. The information provided in the source does not have a credible reference. Further, the information contained in the source is not based on empirical findings. As such, it is not a scholarly source. Despite this, the information can be regarded as credible considering that Vince, who gave opinions contained in it, is a renowned scholar with good credentials. Bengston, David and Michael J. Dockry. “Forest Futures in the Anthropocene: Can Trees and Humans Survive Together?” The World Future Society, 2013. http://www.wfs.org/futurist/2014-issues-futurist/july-august-2014-vol-48-no-4/forest-futures-anthropocene-can-trees-and The above source describes the recent trends and the possible future of Anthropocene. The source focuses on how people in the US have been destroying trees in the past for different purposes. According to David and Dockry, forests today face numerous threats, ranging from urban encroachment to fires. Also, the source describes the nature and status of forests in the world. According to the authors, around 31 percent of the earth land is covered by forest. The source describes various benefits of forests, such as providing spiritual, recreational and ritual opportunities, protecting watersheds, offering home for world life and biodiversity. The authors note that despite the numerous benefits of the forest, human beings do not take the required care for them. In fact, the forests have been reducing and further reduction is expected in the future. The reduction occurs as a result of human activities. One of the reasons why the forests will reduce is that humans are continuously clearing them in order to use land. This is due to the fact that the population of human beings is increasing and further increase is expected in the future. Another major reason is that mega-fires are consuming the forests. The source also explains the possible effects of the reduction in forests in the future. Among the effects described by the authors are climate change and synthetic biology. Another major issue that may be encountered is that wild animals will lose their habitat. The authors of the article question the possibility of an improvement in preservation of forests by human beings in the future. The above source is relevant to the research focusing on the impact of Anthropocene on energy industry. It gives an explanation of how Anthropocene emerges and its effects. However, the source gives an indirect explanation of the effects of Anthropocene on the energy industry. Instead of focusing on the energy industry, the source focuses on many aspects of human life. With regard to the research on the impact of Anthropocene on the energy industry during recession, the source may not be very relevant. Although it explains the impact of Anthropocene in various aspects of life including the energy industry, it fails to give a direct explanation of the impact during recession. A major problem with the article is that it is not scholarly. The authors make justifiable remarks about the impact of Anthropocene on different aspects of human life. The information contained in it is not cited and referenced. The information is just based on the opinions of the authors. The authors do not state whether their claims are based on empirical studies or not. As such, the reliability of the information contained in the source is questionable. The credibility of the information contained in the source can also be questioned. This is due to the fact that information about the credentials of the authors is not given. Bhaduri, Anik, János Bogárdi, Jan Leentvaar and Sina Marx. The Global Water System in the Anthropocene: Challenges for Science and Governance. New York, NY: Springer, 2014. Print. The above source gives an explanation of challenges related to Global Water system that are associated with Anthropocene. According to the authors, the concept of Anthropocene offers various perspectives to issues related to water management such as land use change, demand of water, variability in supply and environmental change. Further, the source explains that Anthropocene plays in important role in building a link between policy, science and practice with regard to water management. Anthropocene also gives an explanation about how people can achieve effectiveness in freshwater management. According to the authors, human beings did not play a significant role in influencing the status of ecosystem prior to industrial revolution. However, humans today play a very big role in influencing the nature and the functioning of the earth system. Their contribution has had a negative impact on the ecosystem. Human activities have led to a great change in the status of the earth’s water system. The authors propose that every human being should make it his or her goal to effectively manage freshwater system. In the above source the authors provide an elaborate definition, description and analysis of Anthropocene. The relevance of the book cannot be questioned. The book offers elaborate information about the impact of Anthropocene on different aspects of life, including the energy industry. In addition, the source touches on the impact of Anthropocene during recession. However, it focuses on many aspects of human life, rather than just the energy industry. The source is also reliable. The information contained in the source is referenced and is sourced from scholarly sources. As such, the book is scholarly. The authors of the book have good credentials and thus, the credibility of the information they give in the book cannot be questioned. Defries, Ruth. The Big Ratchet: How Humanity Thrives in the Face of Natural Crisis. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2014. Print. The above book concentrates on how human beings have endured adversities since the past. In the book, Defries explains how human beings initially survived through hunting. At some point, they stopped hunting and started planting crops and domesticating animals. Eventually, they stopped hunting and used the domesticated food crops and animals for food. Today, they are still using them as food. The author argues that the changes have had numerous benefits in enhancing the survival of human beings. However, they have also had negative effects. Since human beings depend on the domesticated animals and crops for food, they no-longer consider the forest, which is a habitat for different animals as important. They concentrate on the benefits that they derive through growing crops and domesticating animals. One of the eventual effects of lack of their perception of forests is that they end up clearing trees and forests in order to get more land for agriculture. The author argues that humans fail to recognize the eventual impact of such actions, such as climate change. The problem is persistent and unless steps are taken to solve it, adverse effects of the climate change will affect agricultural production in the future. The above book contains information that is relevant for the research. They provide a concise explanation of the effects of Anthropocene on the survival of human beings. However the source concentrates more on how ways of survival by human beings have evolved over time. Also, the source does not focus on the energy industry, although it mentions it in brief. However, the book is reliable since the information contained in it is sourced from scholarly sources. In addition, the information is credible since the authors have good credentials. Eklund, Martin. “The Anthropocene has been shaped by the media and our digital lives”. Academic Rigour, Journalistic Flair, 2015. http://theconversation.com/the-anthropocene-has-been-shaped-by-the-media-and-our-digital-lives-37124 In the above source, Eklund explains how digital lives of humans and the media have shaped anthropocene. According to the author, climate change is occurred mainly due to the reliance on fossil fuels. The use of the fuels has led to a significant change in land, see and atmosphere. The eventual impact of climate change has an indirect impact on industries, especially the energy industries. They are under pressure to adopt strategies and focus on energy sources that will lead to a reduction in pollution. The source explains that different countries and communities are taking measures against energy industries that are not taking measures to reduce their contribution to pollution. Also, industries are deemed responsible if they have implemented strategies for preventing or reducing pollution. The author of the source argues that there is possibility for more pressure in the future on industries to reduce their contribution to pollution. The above source is quite relevant since it provides an elaborate explanation of the impact of Anthropocene on the energy industries during recession. The source explains specific the effects on energy industries and the possible future effects. Despite being relevant, the information may not be reliable since the source is not scholarly. The author does not cite the source of the information; the information is based on the author’s views. Also, the credentials of the author are not given, implying that the credibility of the information contained in the source is questionable. Ellis, Michael A., and Zev Trachtenberg. “Which Anthropocene is it to be? Beyond geology to a moral and public discourse.” Earth’ Future, 2, (2013): 122-125 The article proposes that that the climatic changes that have been caused by human activities could be prevented if they were approached from the moral perspective. The article argues that there is no need to formalize anthropocene on the geological scale; instead, the global climate changes go beyond geology and require moral public discourse. The paper proposes that anthropocene requires strategic science synthesis. The article proposes that the climate changes in the anthropocene era are inevitable and seeks to be accepted as the next stage in the geological time scale. As a result, the article proposes that scientist should come up with new ways of sustaining the environment while controlling the increasing challenges of the global climatic changes. The article was relied in secondary research and peer-reviewed sources to come up with the conclusions and recommendations. One of the strengths of the article’s findings was use of peer-reviewed sources- they are reliable source of information. However, the use of secondary material could make the article be unreliable since the information collected was not based on empirical findings. Researchers should have carried out a qualitative research which could help them to collect first-hand information. I find that the article is not reliable because the research that was conducted was very shallow. I think the article should conduct more field research in order to develop valid arguments and inferences. Forbes, Linda C., and John M. Jermier. “The new corporate environmentalism and the symbolic management of organizational culture.” In Hoffman, A. and Bansal, P. (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Business and the Environment. (Oxford: Oxford University Press), (2012): 556-571. The article focuses on New Corporate Environmentalism by the examination of the organization culture and the Symbolic Organizational Theory (SymOT). The paper develops a theory of greening the organizational culture in an attempt to find solution to the contemporary environmental problems. According to SymOT, each structure within the organization is a symbolic-processing system that has the potential to mitigate or to represent fraudulent greening activity. The article argues that the values within an organization contribute to the responsibility of the members towards environmental concerns. As a result, the paper proposes that environmental stewardship can be achieved through the corporate environmentalism and the symbolic management. Forbes and Jermier conducted cross sectional study in different business organizations in United States and found that the organizational culture played a major role in the impact of the human activities to the environment. The researchers prepared questionnaires in which the respondents from different institutions were require answer questions concerning how their values within their organization culture influenced their roles of environmental stewardship. They found that businesses with strong organizational culture have positive care about effects of the business activities to the environmental. The research findings also showed that most organization had strong ethic in corporate social responsibility. Most business had become aware of the increasing climate changes and were concerned with was of minimizing environmental pollution such as disposal of chemical wastes. In find that one of the strengths of the article was use of questionnaire method of collecting information; as such, it allowed the researcher to correct first-hand and accurate information. The research based on many business organizations in the United States; therefore, this allowed them to avoid collecting biased information. However, one of the limitations of the this article was that they did not explore other factors within the organization that could contribute to global climatic changes such as the type of industries their methods of disposing wastes. I find this article being relevant since it was published recently. The article can be used for further research. Galaz, V. et al. “’Planetary boundaries’ – Exploring the challenges for global environmental governance.” Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 4, (2012): 80-87 The article argues that the multiple interactions of the human activities with the environment have resulted in cascades in the Earth’s system. Further, the article argues that due to the challenges of the global governance, humans have changes the global ecosystems insofar they have cause possible threshold effects. The article identifies four global environmental governance challenges, and also provides ways of dealing with them. Challenges identified include the relationship between Earth’s system science and the global policies, and risks involved in trying to defining these boundaries. Secondly, the article views the capacity of international institutions handle the individual ‘planetary boundaries’; third, the role of international organization in relation to ‘planetary boundaries’. Lastly, the article looks into the role of global governance in monitoring social ecological innovations. The paper proposes that it can be possible for the global human community to act around the potential threshold, without challenging the continuing global climatic changes. Galaz, V. et al (2012) conducted a primary study which their aim was to find the position of the concerned organizations in governing the global human actions in order to reduce the potential threat of changing the global climatic changes beyond the planetary threshold. They used the quantitative research method to determine whether it could be possible to estimate the quantifiable boundaries that were likely to change over time; in political, institutional, policy contexts. They found that implementing international laws would help to reduced the economic activities that linked to cause global climatic change and tackle the difficult challenges of global warming. I find that one of the strength of the article is the comprehensive research that was conducted. The researcher included international organization from all over the world so that they could collect adequate data. As a result, this would help in coming up valid conclusions. In addition, they conducted a quantitative type of research; this enabled them to come up with accurate findings. However, I find that this article had some limitations. The article is based on proposed interventions that were deduced from the research. The article did not provide possible outcomes of the proposed laws and policies on the international bodies concerned with climatic changes and as a result, it would be difficult to know whether the proposed solutions would be successful during implementation. Despites its limitations I find the article being relevant since it was published in 2012; therefore, it addressed issues that are happening at the present time. I think the article can be useful for researchers in developing effective interventions that should reduce or stop the effects of the human activity in global warming. Morton, Timothy. The Ecological Thought. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2012. Print. Morton warns that the environmentalism is often apocalyptic and may result in the end of the world due to the human activities on the environment. Morton looks at the effects of the DDT spays and nuclear bombs that began to be tested on solid and argues that they have had negative effect ecosystems. Morton argues that due to the amount of chemicals we are releasing into the water systems and poisonous gas into the atmosphere, we cannot refuse that we are responsible for the global warming. He adds that the catastrophic effects being experienced in the modern era is connected to the past human activities. He demonstrates that since destruction of the ecosystems began in the past, man has set global warming at a pace that cannot be stopped. In the age of anthropocene, Morton says that there is nothing man can do to reverse the damage he has cause to the environment; that we are living in times when we must struggle with the adversities of nature which are directly affecting our social and economic activities. Morton conducted a cross-sectional study in which, he examined how the climate changes in the age of anthropocene affected businesses across different countries in the middle-east and America. In his research, he deduced that the human interference with the environment could be explained using the Laissez-faire ideology. He viewed how the Global banking crisis of 2008 affected the stock market businesses across the world and argued that capitalism had resulted in exploitation of natural resources at the expense of the impact to the environment. Due to many years of industrial pollution by the profit oriented business organization, this led to poor yield on agricultural farming; causing the food prices to rise. One notable strength Morton’s arguments is that it was based on research findings from different places, that is, different countries. Relying on sources from different locations allowed the author to come up with empirical findings that could help in making valid conclusions. Moreover, Morton’s arguments were built on information from reliable secondary sources. For instance, Morton used data about the banking crisis from the Federal Reserve and minutes from the United Nations Conventions on Environmental management. However, one of the limitations of the research that was conducted by Morton was lack of use of some information source, some of which were decades old. As a result, this would have affected his findings since he would not make inferences based on the current issues of global warming; making his findings to be unreliable. The researcher should have used sources that are up to date so that his findings could be relevant. I find the information the author has provided to be relevant. In order for the present researchers to understand the rising global climatic changes, they will need to rely on information from the past such as the effects of the human activities on the ecosystems. The information can be used to implement policies that will help to mitigate the rising problems of global warming. Read More