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Sustainable Climate Science

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Climate Impacts on the Baltic Sea: From Science to Policy

Part of the book series: Springer Earth System Sciences ((SPRINGEREARTH))

Abstract

To do climate science sustainably, a number of constraints in practicing research and communicating science need to be implemented. Among them are the admission of uncertainty and the possibility for future revision, the recognition that scientific knowledge is challenged and influenced by cultural constructions, and the usage of accurate language, which is not conflicting with every-day language. That scientific knowledge does not directly lead to political conclusions must also be recognized. A few elements needed for a successful science-public dialogue are listed and discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “Der Schaden für die Wissenschaftler ist enorm. Nun glaubt ihnen keiner mehr.” op. cit.

  2. 2.

    Which, in the spirit of the US National Research Council is supposed to impartially sort out complex questions about the functioning and dynamics of our natural and social systems.

  3. 3.

    The term “construction” is not meant to belittle the scientific process or to hint to manipulation but merely to the fact that the knowledge has been obtained in a building process, exploiting different forms of knowledge; see also Müller and von Storch 2004: Computer Modelling in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences – Building Knowledge. Springer Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 304 pp, ISN 1437-028X.

  4. 4.

    On 14 August 2002, the reputable Swedish daily newspaper “Dagens Nyheter” wrote: “Naturen slår tilbaka våldsamt.” (Nature strikes back violently), when reporting about a disastrous flooding in the Czech Republic.

  5. 5.

    An example is provided by a former Chair of a IPCC Working Group who expressed his conviction that God would speak to the public through disasters (Welch 1995: Me and My God. Sunday Telegraph, 10.9.1995). Or, as it is put on the back cover of an alarmistic book “Our drowning world” (Milne 1989: Our drowning world, London: Prism Press): “…we shall be engulfed by the consequences of our greed and stupidity. Nearly two thirds of our world could disappear under polar ice cap water … For this will be the inevitable outcome of industrialization, urbanization, overpopulation and the accompanying pollution.” An enlightened variant is suggested by Lovelock in the framework of his Gaia hypothesis, when he speaks about “The revenge of Gaia – why Earth is fighting back…” (Lovelock 2006: The revenge of Gaia – Why Earth is fighting back – and How we can still save humanity. Penguin Group, London, 177 pp.).

  6. 6.

    For instance the work of the Dutch “Delta-Commissie” in 2008 on worst-case flooding and storm surge scenarios along the Dutch coast; see http://www.deltacommissie.com/en/advies

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Coastal Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Max-Planck-Str. 1, 21502, Geesthacht, Germany

    Hans von Storch

  2. Hamburg University, KlimaCampus, Hamburg, Germany

    Hans von Storch

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  1. Hans von Storch
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Correspondence to Hans von Storch .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Technical University of Denmark, Jaegersborg Allé 1, Charlottenlund, 2920, Denmark

    Keith Brander

  2. Technical University of Denmark, Jaegersborg Allé 1, Charlottenlund, 2920, Denmark

    Brian R. MacKenzie

  3. , Earth Sciences Centre, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, 40530, Sweden

    Anders Omstedt

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von Storch, H. (2012). Sustainable Climate Science. In: Brander, K., MacKenzie, B., Omstedt, A. (eds) Climate Impacts on the Baltic Sea: From Science to Policy. Springer Earth System Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25728-5_7

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