Wk13: Geosciences and Humanity's challenges in the 21st century

Key 21st‑century geoscience challenges 

Climate change, population growth, resource demand (water/food/energy/minerals), natural hazards, sustainable development.

Role of geoscientists in sustainability 

Provide clean water, source critical minerals, model climate, manage hazards, support renewable energy, inform policy.

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 

17 global goals addressing poverty, inequality, climate, ecosystems, and sustainable development.

Examples of geoscience contributions to SDGs 

Hydrogeology for clean water, mineral exploration for renewables, climate modelling for adaptation, hazard mitigation.

What is the Anthropocene? 

A proposed epoch where human activity is the dominant influence on Earth systems.

Giddens’ Paradox 

People struggle to act on climate change because its dangers are not immediate or visible, yet waiting makes action too late.

Apocalyptic climate narratives 

Frame climate change as a future catastrophic event; emphasise urgent mitigation (“now or never”).

Post‑apocalyptic climate narratives 

Assume climate impacts are already here; emphasise adaptation and coping with irreversible change.

Climate fiction (“cli‑fi”) 

Novels/films imagining climate‑changed futures; shape public understanding of climate risks and responses.

Example of climate shock fiction 

The Day After Tomorrow — compresses climate change into sudden catastrophic events.

Example of post‑apocalyptic climate fiction 

Snowpiercer — depicts a world after failed climate intervention and extreme cooling.

Climate change as a “slow emergency” 

Impacts unfold gradually over decades; experienced unevenly across communities and regions.

Uneven distribution of climate impacts 

Vulnerable populations experience climate extremes (heat, floods, fires) earlier and more severely.

Examples of climate‑changed present 

Siberian “airpocalypse,” Greek wildfires, NYC flash‑flood deaths, Pakistan megafloods.

Kyle Whyte’s Indigenous perspective 

Climate “future” hardships resemble colonial impacts Indigenous peoples have already endured.

Mitigation vs adaptation (narrative tension) 

Mitigation = preventing worst outcomes; Adaptation = coping with unavoidable impacts.

Critique of mitigation‑only politics 

Can become a “luxury of the privileged” or a new form of denial that delays necessary adaptation.

Critique of adaptation‑only politics 

Can justify inaction (“too late to act”) or shift burden to vulnerable communities.

Climate futures and justice 

Climate responses must consider who benefits, who bears costs, and whose futures are protected.

Key idea from Week 13 

Climate futures are political: different narratives (apocalyptic vs post‑apocalyptic) shape which climate actions societies prioritise.