Soviet Policy Sciences and Earth System Governmentality

Rindzevičiūtė, Eglė

doi:10.1017/s1479244318000161

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…He began as a geophysicist interested in heat balances in the 1940s and 1950s, developed into a leading theorist of global climate change in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s, and became an internationally celebrated theoretician of global ecology in the 1980s and 1990s (Oldfield, 2016). The interest of earth systems specialists like Nikita Moiseev in climate also fits this pattern (Rindzevi ci utė, 2018). Many contemporary pioneers in the science of global warming in the West, such as Wallace Broecker, Roger Revelle, and Charles David Keeling, started as oceanographers.…”

Section: Environmental History and Climate Historymentioning

confidence: 93%

Climate history of Russia and the Soviet Union

Bruno

2018

WIREs Climate Change

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Russia and the Soviet Union bear great significance for global climate history, but scholarship on this region is still only beginning to develop as a field. While the historiographies of other geographical locations have matured over the past decade, works concerning Russia thus far have appeared in a piecemeal and somewhat disconnected fashion, not yet cohering in a systematic way. Instead, there exist several insightful threads in the environmental history literature on climate. Scholars have examined the history of climate science in Russia, extending from the research of the Academy of Sciences in the eighteenth century to the global thinking about climate change in the late twentieth century. Social scientists have explored the historical roots of Russia's contemporary climate policy. Disasters related to climate have long attracted the attention of historians, though newer works are more in tune with contemporary scholarship on vulnerability and risk. There has also been movement to analyze the varied experiences of the cold in Russia over the long haul. Making an asset out of its apparent lower stage of development, the field of Russian climate history has an opportunity to directly enter advanced scholarly conversations by focusing on the ubiquitous human experiences with climate. Doing so could allow Russian climate history to acquire a position as an innovator among global climate histories. This article is categorized under: Climate, History, Society, Culture > World Historical Perspectives

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Section: Environmental History and Climate Historymentioning

confidence: 93%

Climate history of Russia and the Soviet Union

Bruno

2018

WIREs Climate Change

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“…The latter concept embodied the idea that humankind's growing presence within the biosphere would culminate in a new evolutionary stage framed by scientific and technical progress, and this would present humankind with a moral imperative to ensure the careful management of the Earth's biosphere in its entirety. The work of Vernadsky in this area proved significant for a number of leading Soviet scientists interested in the large-scale functioning of the biosphere and the relationship between the biosphere and society (e.g., Oldfield, 2021;Rindzeviči utė, 2020). In this respect, the aforementioned climate scientist Mikhail Budyko (1920Budyko ( -2001, who would play a leading role in advancing geoengineering thought, engaged deeply with Vernadsky's ideas around the biosphere and noosphere and the linked evolutionary framing.…”

Section: Soviet Science Society-nature Interaction and Climate Modifi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Soviet and Russian perspectives on geoengineering and climate management

Oldfield

Poberezhskaya

2023

WIREs Climate Change

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Soviet science contributed significantly to our understanding of anthropogenic climate change and, as part of this, played a central role in the emerging science underpinning climate modification and geoengineering initiatives. A key focus of discussion was the use of stratospheric aerosols linked to the innovative ideas of Mikhail Budyko and colleagues. This work had its origins in what has been termed the theory of aerosol climatic catastrophe, which gained prominence in the Soviet context during the early 1970s. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, the ideas of Budyko concerning the use of stratospheric aerosols were advanced by Yuri Izrael and his collaborators. The associated body of work gained traction during the 2000s and engendered a wider debate concerning the efficacy of geoengineering solutions amongst Russia's climate scientists. The legacies of this scientific discussion are also evident in recent high‐level international debates such as those linked to the activities of the IPCC. While significant geopolitical obstacles remain in the way of an international agreement linked to the possible deployment of geoengineering measures, interest continues to grow. The maturity of Russian science in the area of geoengineering and climate modification ensures that it remains an important voice within the broader scientific debate. At the same time, the progressive isolation of Russian science from the international scene due to wider geopolitical events risks deflecting attention away from contemporary popular and political debate in this area and alienating this rich scientific tradition at a critical juncture. This article is categorized under: Climate, History, Society, Culture > Ideas and Knowledge Climate, History, Society, Culture > Disciplinary Perspectives Climate, History, Society, Culture > Technological Aspects and Ideas

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“…While publications in Chinese scientific journals disseminate knowledge domestically, they are little referenced by their international counterparts (Zhou and Leydesdorff, 2006). Interrogating the practice and imagining in China of scientific fields like EO diversifies accounts of the intellectual history of Earth system science, which privilege the West (Rindzevičiūtė, 2018). Such work also contributes to critiques of China's governance of data and cyberspace (e.g.…”

Section: Introduction: Ground Control To Mao Zedongmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chinese sociotechnical imaginaries of Earth observation: From sight to foresight

Bennett

2023

Big Data & Society

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Although Earth observation (EO) is considered a universal scientific technique with a hegemonic gaze, national sociotechnical imaginaries shape its practice. Historically established and organized by national governments, EO, which is commonly pursued via satellite remote sensing, depends on domestic perceptions of the technique's scope and applications. EO is also a political technology with the capacity to mediate and potentially regulate life on Earth at a range of scales. In China, the state and scientists endeavor to transform EO into a data-driven, inductive, and predictive method with a focus on social coordination, especially in cities—a key scale for scientific study and the organization and reproduction of state power. Contributing to China's reimagining of EO as a governance and governmentality tool are advances in social sensing, which leverages big data continuously generated by individuals’ devices. By analyzing big EO and social data, rather than only observe past and present changes to the Earth's surface, the Chinese state and scientists seek to predict future social events. While these changes are narrated as a popularization of remote sensing enabling more responsive, human-centric governance, they may augur the rise of antipolitical technologies that attempt to prevent dissent by determining and even guiding future behavior. As China, a satellite power, aims to export its services for observing and predicting Earth and upscale them through global governance, critique of their associated sociotechnical imaginaries is crucial. Such research reveals the heterogeneity of the satellite gaze and may identify where and how people hold power within EO systems.

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Soviet Policy Sciences and Earth System Governmentality

Cited by 8 publications

References 46 publications

Climate history of Russia and the Soviet Union

Climate history of Russia and the Soviet Union

Soviet and Russian perspectives on geoengineering and climate management

Chinese sociotechnical imaginaries of Earth observation: From sight to foresight

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