Word: socialed
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...Turns out, this last question is a matter of great debate. Typically the province of economists wielding formulas too esoteric for most of us to follow, the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) is currently under discussion by the EPA and other regulatory agencies. The figure they choose has huge implications for our ability to make inroads against climate change. The Social Cost of Carbon represents the estimate of damages from one more ton of CO2 added to the atmosphere. (One ton of CO2 is what the average family car emits every two-and-a-half months.) The SCC is important...
...slow process," he says, noting that while there is documentation on rising sea levels, there are little data on such factors as methane release from melting permafrost, the impacts of ocean acidification, and the timing of the potential disintegration of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. "We as social scientists can't [offer precise financial estimates] until we have reliable information from natural scientists. We will probably get better resolution over the next two decades." (See pictures of the effects of global warming...
...read to suggest that simple long-term exposure to enticing foods leads to obesity and reduces the ability to obtain pleasure, there's actually at least one other major factor at play. Consider the living conditions of the rats in the study: solitary cages. Like humans, rats are highly social animals that suffer when deprived of contact with others. But in the experiment, the rats were not only isolated from other rats, but were also given no toys or exercise wheels; their diet options were either monotonous rat chow or cheesecake and bacon. (See a special report on the science...
...classic rat study by Bruce Alexander, emeritus professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University, researchers measured the impact of the social and physical environment on the risk of morphine addiction. They found that rats kept in small, isolated cages readily chose to self-administer high, frequent doses of morphine. But rats that lived in "Rat Park" - an earthly rat paradise with plenty of friends and potential mates, nesting materials, toys and room to run and play - voluntarily took significantly less morphine, preferring activity with friends and family to getting high. Under some conditions, Rat Park rats took 20 times less...
Past studies have found that socioeconomically disadvantaged people and others in high-stress situations with little social support are at much greater risk for both addiction and obesity. For example, people who were displaced for more than two weeks after hurricanes Katrina and Rita were 56% more likely to have a substance abuse disorder a year later, compared with those who survived the hurricanes but were not displaced. Overall, about 1 in 8 people who lost their homes - and who were also much more likely than the general population to be poor and unemployed - suffered from substance abuse disorders, compared...