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Going to extremes: propositions on the social response to severe climate change

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Abstract

The growing literature on potentially-dangerous climate change is examined and research on human response to natural hazards is analyzed to develop propositions on social response pathways likely to emerge in the face of increasingly severe climate change. A typology of climate change severity is proposed and the potential for mal-adaptive responses examined. Elements of a warning system for severe climate change are briefly considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, 216 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309-0488, USA

    William R. Travis

  2. Department of Geography, University of Colorado, 260 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309-0260, USA

    William R. Travis

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Travis, W.R. Going to extremes: propositions on the social response to severe climate change. Climatic Change 98, 1–19 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-009-9661-8

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