The object of this study is a program of government that has, as its immediate objective, the modification and regulation of consumer conduct deemed pertinent to climate change. Drawing from the analytical grid and conceptual tools of governmentality, this study has organized and analyzed an archive of documents related to the One-Tonne Challenge, a ‘public education’ program implemented by the Government of Canada from 2003 to 2006. There are numerous forms of conduct targeted by this program, involving many of the mundane and routine practices of everyday life. Despite their heterogeneity, the targeted forms of conduct can all be measured and evaluated according to the greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, an ecological technology of government that has had its application extended to the ‘personal’ level. As consumers increasingly engage in practices that are energy efficient, a ‘low intensity GHG emission lifestyle’ will emerge as a new societal norm, which is declared to be the ‘ultimate strategic objective’ of the program. The analysis indentifies and describes two rationalities of government articulated within the archive of the program. Liberal principles and assumptions regarding the market economy are ascendant in practice; they delimit the range of governmental techniques that can be put into operation by the state. Nevertheless, the objectives and technologies of this program belong to an ecological rationality of government. It problematizes the liberal emphasis on ‘voluntary action’ and advances state planning of the market economy through price formation as a necessary governmental technique with which to manipulate the demand for energy and ensure that consumers become energy-efficient. The conclusion interprets and diagnoses the main dangers that could arise from the radical transformation of the market economy that would be brought about by an ecological political reason.

Climate change is rapidly altering natural ecosystems. Plastic and adaptive responses to climate change (i.e., range shifts and phenology) have been widely noted across taxa. However, the effects of climate change on evolutionary processes such as interspecific gene flow (hybridization) are less well known. In this study, we quantified hybridization rates in response to experimental manipulations of rainfall, an important dimension of global change. We used rain-out shelters in the field and quantified rates of hybridization between two congeners, Helianthus annuus (common sunflower) and H. petiolaris (prairie sunflower). We found that H. annuus maternal plants produced hybrid progeny more than H. petiolaris maternal plants, with a trend for decreased rates of hybridization with increased soil moisture (when rain-out shelters were absent). The relative number of open inflorescences of each species predicted hybridization rates. Thus, this study demonstrates how changing environmental conditions, specifically precipitation, could influence hybridization rates.

In temperate climate with pronounced seasonality, ice and snow cover reduces light conditions during winter which in turn reduce search efficiency for visual feeding consumers like fish. Furthermore, a suggested major effect of future climate change is an increased input of allochtonous DOC to aquatic systems which causes an increased brownification and hence reduced overall light conditions. In this study, I sampled YOY three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) of different sizes overwintering in clear and brown water model ecosystems to examine if consumption were dependent on light conditions (natural light variability over winter) and if consumption were reduced in brown water. Three-spined sticklebacks were able to feed at different winter conditions and the prey biomass in stomachs was higher in clear- than in brown water despite higher resource levels in brown water treatments. Moreover when light intensity increased in late winter compared to midwinter conditions prey biomass in stomachs increased in both clear and brown water systems. Dominated prey taxa in the diet were chironomids and copepods. Results from this study suggest that when fish species are able to feed at low temperature and resource availability are sufficient light conditions during winter can be an important factor affecting overwinter survival in YOY fish because visual prey encounters and hence consumption rates are affected by light conditions. Future climate change scenarios with predicted increased brownification may therefore affect over winter survival in fish because of the negative effect of low light intensity (brownification) on prey consumption in fish in turn potentially changing recruitment success and densities of fish.

No description available.

Since the advent of the industrial era atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have been on the rise leading to increasing global mean temperatures. Through increasing temperatures and changes to distributions of precipitation, climate change will intensify the hydrologic cycle which will directly impact surface water sources while the impacts to groundwater are reflected through changes in recharge to the water table. The IPCC (2001) reports that limited investigations have been conducted regarding the impacts of climate change to groundwater resources. The complexity of evaluating the hydrologic impacts of climate change requires the use of a numerical model. This thesis investigates the state of the science of conjunctive surface-subsurface water modeling with the aim of determining a suitable approach for conducting long-term transient simulations at the watershed scale. As a result of this investigation, a coupled modeling approach is adopted using HELP3 to simulate surface and vadose zone processes and HydroSphere to simulate saturated flow of groundwater. This approach is applied to the Alder Creek Watershed, which is a subwatershed of the Grand River Watershed and located near Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. The Alder Creek Watershed is a suitable case study for the evaluation of climate change scenarios as it has been well characterized from previous studies and it is relatively small in size. Two contrasting scenarios of climate change (i.e., drier and wetter futures) are evaluated relative to a reference scenario that is based on the historical climatic record of the region. The simulation results show a strong impact upon the timing of hydrologic processes, shifting the spring snow melt to earlier in the year leading to an overall decrease in runoff and increase in infiltration for both drier and wetter future climate scenarios. Both climate change scenarios showed a marked increase to overall evapotranspiration which is most pronounced in the summer months. The impacts to groundwater are more subdued relative to surface water. This is attributed to the climate forcing perturbations being attenuated by the shift of the spring snow melt and the transient storage effects of the vadose zone, which can be significant given the hummocky terrain of the region. The simulation results show a small overall rise of groundwater elevations resulting from the simulated increase in infiltration for both climate change scenarios.

During the last decade, climate change has prolonged droughts and increased rainfall intensity, which has resulted in an increase in the number of flash floods and tropical storms. These events are affecting Costa Rica’s agriculture sector and are impacting the country’s food security. The main objective of this study was to evaluate farmers' local knowledge and perceptions about climate change and determine the impacts of the payment for environmental services (PES) programme on assisting farmers to integrate information and use innovative technologies to adapt to climate change. Research indicates that although climate change is affecting Costa Rican agriculture, there are adaptation strategies to help alleviate the negative impacts. Farmers in two geographical areas were interviewed to evaluate their integration of climate change information into land management practices. The two areas were Esparza, in the northern part of the province of Puntarenas, and Durika, in southern Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Farmers interviewed in Esparza were chosen based on their involvement in a PES project developed by Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigacíón y Enseñanza (CATIE). Farmers in Durika were chosen because they practice sustainable agricultural techniques that more formally integrate climate change information. Results showed that the PES project was a successful approach to encourage farmers to adapt to climate change. Farmers in Durika and Esparza mentioned the importance of financial incentives combined with improved knowledge and understanding of climate change to encourage adaptation. Important adaptation strategies implemented in Esparza included the use of agroforestry, Brachiaria spp. grasses, water conservation and protection, and supplements. Based on the success of CATIE’s project combined with comments made from farmers in Durika, recommendations are made to improve this project and extend information into the rest of the country.

Modelling the impact of climate change on the water from agricultural areas on a regional scale over a 40 year time period is the subject of this thesis. The Grand River watershed spans approximately 290 km with an area of approximately 6,800 km². Approximately 90% of the watershed is agricultural land some of which is tile drained. These tile drains, which cover approximately 15% of the total land of the watershed, are installed to augment field drainage. The tile drains usually outlet somewhere along the perimeter of a property; the discharge then typically moves along the surface until it discharges into a surface water body such as a river, pond, or lake. Investigating the impact of climate change on agricultural tile drainage at a watershed scale can be achieved using modelling. The tile drains can affect both the water quality and the water quantity of a watershed. With the potential climatic changes, the storm intensity, and growing season also could change. Spatial data for the Grand River watershed was gathered to allow for further simulation. The data for tile drained areas was added to land use/land class and soil data for the watershed to produce a map of tile drained agricultural areas. Climate change scenarios were then simulated for each cell. Three climate change scenarios were investigated to determine the impact on tile drain discharge and the hydrological process for the watershed. The climate change scenarios that were chosen were the A2, A1B, and the B1 scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. After the simulations were completed for the tiled areas and the results collected, the simulations showed the greatest impact of tile drain discharge in the spring season as well as the fall season. For the tiled cells the annual average discharge was approximately 0.22 m3/ha for 1999. The average discharge was approximately 0.15 m3/ha for April of 1999. April accounted for approximately 65% of the annual tile drainage for 1999. The climate change scenarios were simulated and the average annual discharge increased approximately 0.023 m3/ha and 0.021 m3/ha for the A2 and A1B scenarios respectively. The B1 scenario had an average annual decrease of approximately 0.022 m3/ha.

Numerous studies emphasize that climate, particularly temperature, is one of the most important resources of a tourist destination. With the onset of climate change, this climatic parameter of tourist destinations may change, leading some scientists and the media to claim that some destinations, including the Mediterranean, will become “too hot” for tourist comfort by as early as 2020 or 2030. This study examines tourists’ perceived and stated ideal and unacceptable conditions for multiple climate variables (temperature, rain, wind and sky conditions) for two popular Mediterranean tourism segments; beach/3S and urban sightseeing holidays. A survey instrument was administered to university students (n=866) in five countries that represent source markets for the Mediterranean (Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland). The survey results were applied to a baseline climate (1961-1990) and a minimum and maximum climate change scenario (A1B emission scenario for 2080-2099). With the exception of Athens, Greece, the results suggest that the media’s claims are erroneous, with only one urban destination incurring “unacceptably hot” conditions by mid-century and only a few destinations becoming “unacceptably hot” by the end of the 21st century. A more imminent threat could be the influence the media claims may have on tourists’ perception of the climate in the Mediterranean region. It is anticipated that these findings will hold important implications for critically assessing the potential impact of climate change in the study area and other destinations more broadly, and can be used to refine models intended to predict tourism demand and international tourism flows under climate change.

For decades, rhetoric has been utilized by both politicians and those in the scientific community to convey either support for or denial of the existence of climate change. This study combined two forms of rhetoric in the forms of both framing and politicization to determine which form of rhetoric is most powerful in influencing a person’s attitudes and behavioral intentions. Pro climate change frames are expected to increase support for climate change action, while anti climate change politicization is expected to decrease support for climate change action. The results of this study show that select frames have the intended effect of influence on increasing support for climate change measures. Surprisingly, the results also show that politicization that questions the science of climate change has the power to both increase and decrease support for attitudinal measures with regard to climate change.

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world and it continues to grow at a rapid pace. Tourism is dependent upon weather and climate, particularly the length and quality of the outdoor recreation season for nature-based tourism, since it is directly affected by weather. Indirectly, the natural biophysical resources that outdoor tourism is based upon can also be altered by climate. Thus, climate change has the potential to affect nature-based tourism that takes place in national parks and other protected areas. Of the studies that analyse the impacts of climate change in national parks, the vast majority focus on conservation policy and planning rather than tourism. This study applies a single variable regression analysis technique to empirically evaluate the affects of climate change on the quantity and seasonal patterns of visitation to United States national parks under a range of climate change scenarios for the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s (The Met Office Hadley Centre CM3 B21 (United Kingdom) and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation MK2B A11 (Australia) climate models were used for the Alaskan parks, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research PCM B21 (United States) and Centre for Climate Systems Research NIES A11 (Japan) models were used for the contiguous states). Fourteen parks are included in the study, representing 12 different climate regimes across the country and 58% of total visitation to all national parks in the United States in 2005. In general, the number of visits to parks in the northern regions of the country, excluding Alaska, is projected to increase annually, with the majority of increases occurring in the spring and fall shoulder seasons. In Alaska, there is no consistent pattern on an annual basis due to projections being calculated for only the low season (winter) for Denali, and for the high season (summer) for Glacier Bay. Based on these projections, visitation may increase during the low season and decrease during the high season for Alaskan parks. Parks in the south are projected to experience decreased annual visitation as temperatures become uncomfortably hot, particularly under high emissions scenarios. The largest changes in visitation are projected to occur in the 2080s, although some parks may experience noticeable changes as early as the 2020s in particular seasons. Small to moderate changes in visitation (up to 10% annually) are projected with the low emission climate change scenarios, even into the 2080s. Small to large visitation changes (up to 47% annually) are projected using the higher emission climate change scenarios. These visitation changes could lead to the need for substantial management changes in certain US national parks as revenue collected from user fees and operational costs are altered. Additional ecological and social impacts resulting from increased visitation will also need to be critically considered. Where fewer visits are projected, decreased revenue may lead to an inability to properly manage the park. The results of the study can be used by the National Park Service and regional and park managers to plan for visitation changes that might occur as climate change continues over the 21st century.