"A visionary and immensely practical approach to reforming today's bubble finance and taming its global casino. Verhagen [...] illuminates the win-win solutions possible when we combine monetary transformation with low-carbon, renewable resource strategies and equitable approaches to sustainable development." -Hazel Henderson, President of Ethical Markets Media, author and creator of The Green Transition Scoreboard As climate change continues to threaten the earth and as the global financial crisis lingers, governments and communities need to take charge of their own and global monetary systems. Sustainability sociologist Frans Verhagen proposes a solution-the Tierra Solution-to repair the present global monetary, financial, and economic systems that enrich the few, impoverish the many, and imperil the planet. Verhagen calls for transformational changes in order to advance climate-resilient economic development. The Tierra Solution proposes: -A credit-based financial system governed by a Global Central Bank, -A banking system without the privilege of money creation, and most importantly, -A carbon standard for the international monetary system with the Tierra as the unit of account. The Tierra Solution is an in-depth and thought-provoking read that shows an innovative path for global citizens who want to combat climate change, the economic crisis and poverty, and for public officials, economists, international development experts, and climate scientists who want to be part of an integrated solution to the dual challenges of climate change and financial crises. "Whether you agree or disagree, The Tierra Solution challenges us with an innovative proposal. No tinkering here. Verhagen is out to lay a new foundation for environmental and climate justice, with an overhaul of the international monetary system that builds the cost of environmental degradation into economic calculations." -Rev. Arthur Simon, President Emeritus and founder of Bread for the World "This plan for a carbon-based international monetary standard that addresses both climate change and global economic inequities is bold, visionary, and truly transformative. It is a must-read for everyone who cares about the fate of the earth." -Sheila D. Collins, Professor of Political Science Emerita, William Paterson University FRANS C. VERHAGEN is a sustainability sociologist with a Ph.D. in the sociology of international development from Columbia University. He founded the Queens Green Party, the Riverside Church Ecology Task Force, and the Ecolinguistics Commission. He has worked around the world and online teaching environmental policies and sustainability.

What are the prospects for averting dangerous climate change and which strategies offer promising avenues to successfully tackle this global challenge? These questions are at the heart of the analysis in this book that begins by evaluating the possibilities and limits of transnational cooperation in climate policy. The book then investigates the normative underpinnings for avoiding dangerous climate change and looks at policy instruments for climate protection. The final section turns to developing an implementation strategy centered on the innovative concept of a Modular Carbon Market as an institutional structure for global emissions management. (Series: Studies on International Environmental Policy / Studien zur Internationalen Umweltpolitik - Vol. 15)

This proceedings volume provides a snapshot of the latest issues encountered in technical convergence and convergences of security technology. It explores how information science is core to most current research, industrial and commercial activities and consists of contributions covering topics including Ubiquitous Computing, Networks and Information Systems, Multimedia and Visualization, Middleware and Operating Systems, Security and Privacy, Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, and Web Technology. The proceedings introduce the most recent information technology and ideas, applications and problems related to technology convergence, illustrated through case studies, and reviews converging existing security techniques. Through this volume, readers will gain an understanding of the current state-of-the-art in information strategies and technologies of convergence security. The intended readership are researchers in academia, industry, and other research institutes focusing on information science and technology.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the urgency of global climate change. But when author Guy Dauncey assembles the world's best solutions in one place, as he does in The Climate Challenge, a vision emerges of a sustainable energy revolution. He opens the door to a century of exciting change, characterized by renewable energy, sustainable farming, carbon-rich forestry, green cities, electric vehicles, high-speed trains, a blossoming of innovation, and a host of new "green collar" jobs. The Climate Challenge draws on working solutions from around the world, and lays out the best actions for students and scientists, musicians and mayors, policy-makers and presidents, showing how it is possible to reduce our carbon footprint to almost zero by 2040. Each solution describes steps that are already being used in homes, schools, businesses, cities, and governments around the world - with full scientific references to help the reader dig deeper and push farther. If you worry about climate change, whether you are an enquiring teenager, a concerned householder, a farmer, forester, business leader, city mayor, or global policy-maker, this book will help you join the movement to help restore the planet's climate and build a new green economy.

The Rough Guide to Climate Change gives the complete picture of the single biggest issue facing the planet. Cutting a swathe through scientific research and political debate, this completely updated 3rd edition lays out the facts and assesses the options-global and personal-for dealing with the threat of a warming world. The guide looks at the evolution of our atmosphere over the last 4.5 billion years and what computer simulations of climate change reveal about our past, present and future. This updated edition includes scientific findings that have emerged since the 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as well as background on recent controversies and an updated politics section that reflects post-Copenhagen developments. Discover how rising temperatures and sea levels, plus changes to extreme weather patterns, are already affecting life around the world. The Rough Guide to Climate Change unravels how governments, scientists and engineers plan to tackle the problem and includes information on what you can do to help.

The Kyoto Protocol, the world's first tentative step towards avoiding the threat of climate change, has failed. We urgently need a new course of action. In Kyoto2 the author presents us with a strikingly original new solution. Using a system of finite production rights for greenhouse gases, which would be traded by organisations on a global auction, Kyoto2 seeks to succeed where the original agreement failed. Regulated by an independent body, the funds could be poured back into healing the wounds inflicted by climate change. In his combination of idealism with realistic proposals, Tickell exposes the flaws in current approaches, and envisions a fairer and more effective system. Kyoto2 promises to banish the dejection of the post-Kyoto era, reviving hope that the cure for the crisis facing our planet is still achievable.