The Big Thaw: Policy, Governance, and Climate Change in the Circumpolar North (Suny Press Open Access)

Explores the unprecedented and rapid climate changes occurring in the Arctic environment.

Climate change, one of the drivers of global change, is controversial in political circles, but recognized in scientific ones as being of central importance today for the United States and the world. In The Big Thaw, the editors bring together experts, advocates, and academic professionals who address the serious issue of how climate change in the Circumpolar Arctic is affecting and will continue to affect environments, cultures, societies, and economies throughout the world. The contributors discuss a variety of topics, including anthropology, sociology, human geography, community economics, regional development and planning, and political science, as well as biogeophysical sciences such as ecology, human-environmental interactions, and climatology.

This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to Knowledge Unlatched-an initiative that provides libraries and institutions with a centralized platform to support OA collections and from leading publishing houses and OA initiatives.

At the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Ezra B. W. Zubrow is Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology. At the University of Buffalo's School of Law, Errol Meidinger is Distinguished Professor and Margaret W. Wong Professor of Law. At the University of Buffalo's School of Law, Kim Diana Connolly is Professor of Law and Vice Dean for Advocacy and Experiential Education.