GLCb2020
Environmental
threats and
security
Environmental security:
a sustainable future?
April 18, 2024
Miriam Matejova, PhD
Agenda
• Final exam
• Presentations
• Sustainable future: radical
solutions
Final exam
• Written
• Four questions
• Short answers
• Concepts, theory, case
studies, examples
• Each answer for max. 10
points, together max. 40
points
• Required (not recommended)
literature, lectures,
presentations
Final exam: what (not) to do
• Answer the question.
• Explain your answer (don’t assume that I know what
you are talking about).
• Explain the logic of your argument.
• Define key terms.
• Correctly link the authors with their theories /
arguments.
• Use clear examples and explain how those are linked to
your theory.
• Do not copy and paste text from anywhere and add
references to your sources!
• Answer the question.
Rubric
• 9-10: Exceptional answer – includes
everything that a “7-8” answer has, but it
also has something extra (e.g., linking
themes/weeks/concepts, balance of
arguments, etc.)
• 7-8: Good answer – key concepts are
defined, question is clearly answered in a
structured way, emphasis on analytical
thinking, the use of examples is explained
Rubric
• 5-6: Answer is mostly descriptive. It contains
key terms but doesn’t include much analysis
or the analysis makes no sense.
• 3-4: No sensible answer and no analysis.
Student wrote down everything on the topic.
There may be gaps, mistakes.
• 1-2: No clear answer to the question. Many or
most concepts not well defined. Inaccuracies
in theories, authors, concepts, etc.
• 0: No answer
Presentations: logistics
• 15 minutes presentation, 10 minutes
discussion
• The group facilitates the discussion
• Don’t forget to upload your presentation
summary to the IS
before your presentation
Presentations: logistics
25.4.
Group#1
• Kazi Md Asiful Alam; Thomas Palaghianu; Alexa
Beatrice Perez
• Water pollution in the Philippines
Group#2
• Asraful Islam; Natalia Płóciennik; Athina Tromara
• ?
Group#3
• Jules Puig, Sarunya Poolma, Emiko Shimada
• The remaining environmental problems of Black
Summer in Australia 2019-20
Presentations: logistics
2.5.
Group#1
• Mehadi Hasan; Noah Jack Phelps; Illia Shnypko; Eszter Füzes
• Plastic pollution in Vietnam
Group#2
• Farhad Sufian Fahim; Kurara Yamaji; Veronika Hřibová
• Dying of Lake Chad
Group#3
• Md Ahsan Habib, Akou Kpehounton, Sofia Del Mar Rodríguez
Aponte
• Drought in the Sahel Region (Ethiopia)
Group#4
• Van Giang Le Ba, Sára Petrásková; Petar Tokić
• Environmental degradation of the Mekong River
Geoengineering: history
• 19. century: preventing drought through cloud
seeding
• 1983: Carl Sagan and “nuclear winter”
Geoengineering
• The use of technology to alter global or regional
climatic systems
– carbon dioxide removal (CDR)
– solar radiation management (SRM)
Carbon dioxide removal
• Traditional environmental policies – e.g.,
reforestation
• Lowering of the GHG emissions may not be
enough → CO2 that is already in the atmosphere
must be removed
– E.g., infusing the oceans with iron → seaweed
growth
• Risks are mostly local
Solar radiation management
• Goal is to use science for shifting global
climate systems back to early or preindustrial
era
– Reflexive surfaces
• Volcanic eruptions (Mount Pinatubo,
Tambora)
Geoengineering:
problems
• Side-effects
• Cost
• Lowering the urgency
• Geopolitics and intentional disasters
Population control?
• Good or bad idea?
• Realistic or not?