Sustainability and Risk in Globalization

We all are aware that we live in a world of change, and that there are many things going on that appear to be problematic. There are islands in the Pacific that are going underwater (well, they aren’t sinking, but the water level is rising). There are glaciers that are disappearing. Europeans spent a good part of the second millennium AD looking for a Northwest Passage to Asia — but nature appears to be providing one for us in the third. Climate appears to be changing, although weather being what it is, long-range trends are elusive at best. But North Dakota might someday be a winter haven, and Omaha might be a seaport. We need to worry about the environment. We will, of course, argue about how to cope. Some want to ban coal and petroleum use NOW. Others prefer to consider moving uphill.