Abstract: | A literature review and a survey of professionals whose work deals with climate change indicate that more is known and considered certain by the natural science community concerning responses of natural systems to climate change. There is less of a consensus among social scientists that social systems are directly responding to climate change. The emphasis in the literature on policy and mitigation is corroborated by the survey results, which revealed only social variables that are tightly linked to climate or natural systems. Identifying variables of both natural and social systems that respond to climate change is imperative for a better understanding of the implications of climate change. |