This collected volume deals with emerging issues related to climate variation, climate change and adaptation technologies, with a special focus on Latin American countries. Presenting a variety of adaptation strategies and projects currently being undertaken and implemented, the book showcases how Latin American nations are struggling to meet the challenges of climate change. Latin America as a whole and Central America in particular is one of the most vulnerable regions of the world and i...

Including considerations of sustainability in universities’ activities has long since become mainstream. However, there is still much to be done with regard to the full integration of sustainability thinking into science and engineering curricula. Among the problems that hinder progress in this field, the lack of sound information on how to actually implement it is prominent. Created in order to address this need, this book presents a wealth of information on innovative approaches, methods...

The book "Sustainability Transition and Global Citizenship in the Digital Era: Innovations in Universities" offers a timely and nuanced exploration of the critical role of higher education. The book is based on a background of climate emergencies, a deepening of social inequalities, and a digital revolution that simultaneously connects and divides. This suggests that as crucibles of knowledge and innovation, universities must fundamentally transform to prepare future generations with the c...

This book contributes to debates on current sustainability practices, with a focus on assessment tools as applied in higher education institutions. These institutions are challenged to carry out management, research, and teaching, and to create settings that allow developing new competencies to address the complex global environmental, social, cultural, and economic pressures with which current and future generations are confronted.The first chapters discuss issues of sustainabilit...

This book discusses the use of e-learning in the progresses towards Sustainable Development (SD) or Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Almost three decades after the concept of sustainable development appeared, 2014 is the year where historical goals should be reached, since it is the last year of the United Nations Decade on ESD. Within this decade, research, projects and educational initiatives were developed and deliverables were achieved. Using e-learning is becoming widely a...

Bjorn Lomborg argues that many of the elaborate and staggeringly expensive actions now being considered to meet the challenges of global warming ultimately will have little impact on the world’s temperature. He suggests that rather than focusing on ineffective solutions that will cost us trillions of dollars over the coming decades, we should be looking for smarter, more cost-effective approaches (such as massively increasing our commitment to green energy R&D) that will allow us to deal n...

Michael Fullan examines themoral purpose of school leadership and its critical role in "changing the context" in which the principalship is embedded.Michael Fullan examines themoral purpose of school leadership and its critical role in "changing the context" in which the principalship is embedded.

This book collects the findings of a group of scientists and economists who have taken stock of climate change impacts on food and agriculture at global and regional levels over the past two decades. The evidence presented describes how global warming will impact where and how food is produced and discusses the significant consequences for food security, health and nutrition, water scarcity and climate adaptation. The book also highlights the implications for global food trade. The evidenc...

"The ′challenge of change′ is everyone′s favorite phrase these days. And for good reason. Never has the need been greater in education for reform that results in both individual and societal benefits."—From the IntroductionA cohesive, multi-level approach for sustainable educational reform!With practical insights and critical analysis, this completely revised edition of The Challenge of School Change sheds new light on the ...

At Copenhagen in December 2009, the international community agreed to limit global warming to below two degrees Celsius to avoid the worst impacts of human-induced climate change. However climate scientists agree that current national emissions targets collectively will still not achieve this goal. Instead, the ‘ambition gap’ between climate science and climate policy is likely to lead to average global warming of around four degrees Celsius by or before 2100. If a ‘Four Degree World’ is t...

Human well-being relies critically on ecosystem services provided by nature. Examples include water and air quality regulation, nutrient cycling and decomposition, plant pollination and flood control, all of which are dependent on biodiversity. They are predominantly public goods with limited or no markets and do not command any price in the conventional economic system, so their loss is often not detected and continues unaddressed and unabated. This in turn not only impacts human well-bei...

This book presents a framework, the Urban Risk Assessment, for assessing disaster and climate risk in cities which is intended to assist in decision-making, urban planning, and designing risk management programs. The approach seeks to strengthen coherence and consensus within and across cities in understanding and planning for risk from natural disasters and climate change. The target audience for this book includes policy makers, urban practitioners and technical staff, and international org...