University of Michigan faculty and GLISA Core Team member Dr. Maria Carmen Lemos and graduate student Scott Kalafatis describe their GLISA social science project. This presentation was part of the GLISA Symposium 2011 on November 3, 2011. To watch all videos from the symposium, please visit glisa.umich.edu/great_lakes_climate/glisa_symposium.php. About the project: The project assessed documents on climate change impacts and variability, published by scientists, public servants, and NGOs. They identified trends in the change of stakeholders’ thinking, engagement, and perception of climate knowledge in the Great Lakes region. The assessment found that ideas on how to respond to climate are increasing in scope from narrow to broad. Older documents were more likely to focus on uncertainty and a lack of cost-benefit analysis as big constraints to action, while newer documents tended to show a much more innovative way of thinking. We are “moving into a space where people are saying maybe we don’t have to know exactly what is happening in order to start responding to climate impacts,” says Lemos. The reports analyzed for this project are also the centerpiece of a study of stakeholder networks, with the broader goal of improving science-policy networks and informing decision-making in the Great Lakes region. For more information about GLISA, its projects or its work, visit www.glisa.umich.edu
