THE INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF WEATHER AND CLIMATE MODIFICATION

This treatise is intended to further needed research into a relatively new and important area of international relations: "ecopolitics." While "ecopolitics" includes a multitude of ecological issues and their impact on the global political system, the scope of this study is limited to the international implications of weather and climate modification. It has become increasingly evident that new approaches to the study of international relations must be utilized to understand fully the potential impact of mnay new issues on the international system. For example, an "ecopolitical" perspective--where concerns are focused on environmentally related problems at the national, regional, and global levels--has received increased attention. More specifically, environmentally related issues such as weather and climate modification likely will assume greater significance as environmental degradation accelerates and technological innovation allows more ambitious environmental modification programs. The effects of weather and climate transcend national boundaries; thus, attempts to control the weather, and to a greater extent the climate, will of necessity be intenational in nature. Furthermore, inadvertent weather and climate modification through pollution and man's activities also have global political ramifications. In the final analysis, environmental modification for the benefit of mankind is contingent upon the degree of internnational cooperation exhibited by the nations actively engaged in weather and climate modification and control. Moreover, effective global management of environmental issues is a prerequisite for minimizing the potential for conflict and maximizing cooperation. One of the principal barriers to the effective management of global commons issues is the fact that the creation of the necessary institutional arrangements generally lag behind politicization of the issue. While the process of creating an effective international body to monitor and manage environmental modification undoubtedly will be difficult and protracted, it is imperative that efforts in this direction be initiated now before such modification becomes a volatile political issue. Based on the above considerations, I propose that an international authority--closely patterned after the International Seabed Authority--be created to manage environmental modification for the global good.