Skip to 0 minutes and 5 seconds Every time we look at the news, it seems to be full of conflicts that are taking place in one part of the world or another. News reports are, of course, a biassed representation of what’s happening on our planet as bad news is good news from a journalist’s perspective. But nonetheless, there are huge environmental consequences. Firstly, there is the destruction and pollution caused by the conflict itself. But secondly, and perhaps more significantly, it’s the disruption to social systems and governance of the environment.
Skip to 0 minutes and 51 seconds I’m professor Jon Lovett, Chair in Global Challenges at the University of Leeds. My role is to guide you through this course. We start by exploring three basic principles, the economics of the coming Spaceship Earth, scarcity in conflict, and the environment as a weapon of war. These principles will then be applied to a case study, where we consider two different approaches to international relations. We close the course with a discussion. I’m joined via Skype by three colleagues from Balamand University in Lebanon, where we discuss vulnerability, gender, and the confessionalism system in Lebanon. So in the midst of human suffering, do we take the environmental consequences of war seriously enough?
Skip to 1 minute and 40 seconds I look forward to hearing your thoughts and joining your discussions on the course.
