Workshop on Sociological Perspectives on Global Climate Change

II. Promote the widespread understanding of communities as networks of power (for and against change)
participating in a revolution of de-carbonization.

A. We actually have a peculiarly special teaching moment for our discipline. Network action is a powerful
organizational force, especially useful for intentionally flexible responses to changing operating conditions. This
is because network components can be selected and quickly “activated” as they were in creating the knowledge
for implementing a global protective regime for the stratospheric ozone layer under the Montreal Protocol (Canan
and Reichman 2002). Carbon IMBALANCE rides on the most complex of worldwide systems of economic,
political, and cultural interests, with the dominant culture being globalized capitalism assisted by “multi-focal”
growth machines. These deeply entrenched institutional systems (networks of existing practices) make challenge
by even an activated public, interested media, and scientific consensus difficult.

Showcase carbon network research on CARBON COMMUNITIES and DE-CARBON COMMUNITIES
in the journal of Carbon Balance and Management and through relationships with science journalists as laws,
regulations, and codes are revised under the current “greening of America.” This work should bring credible
evidence of the specific, policy-relevant (financial) connections between the decisions made, the decision makers,
and the nature of costs and benefits at multiple scales and loci of governance.

B. Some applications of network theory and methods to climate change issues listed by scholars attending the
GCP Workshop on Social Network Applications to Climate Change (2005) were as follows:

    Mapping power

    Identifying missing or weak clusters in policy making or implementation

    Locating shared values, worldviews

    Creating knowledge-sharing action teams

    Knitting networks for change

    Time and Place Stamps in Network Data

    Computational Laboratories

III. Support the nascent effort to build a research community dedicated to carbon dynamics.

Consider the recommendations in the “Mexico City Declaration,” as reported in “Responsibility, opportunity, and
vision for higher education in urban and regional carbon management,” Canan and Schienke (2007) http://www.
cbmjournal.com/content/1/1/13#IDAQ3UJE