Climate Change and Faith in Humanity

I recently saw a speech that Senator John Kerry delivered which does a great job of encapsulating the context and background of the climate change issue. (video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI_V-3KJtJM&feature=youtube_gdata_player). Kerry traces the commitment that the US Administration made in 1992 at the Rio Summit to take a leadership role and how that has failed to materialize over the last 20 years. He also refers to David Orr's book, Down to the Wire, which does a superb job of outlining the choices before us with regards to climate change. Now that the Rio+20 Summit has concluded, there is no binding agreement signed. It appears that the real leadership on many environmental issues and particularly on climate change is being taken by cities from around the world that recognize the importance of implementing climate adaptation strategies. There have also be advances made by parts of the commercial sector that see the importance of economic savings in these strategies.


In a larger context, a colleague sent me a link to an encouraging set of photos describing acts of heroism and kindness. These stories titled, "Restore Your Faith in Humanity" provide an uplifting view of the positive capacity of the human spirit. Check out photos at: http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/pictures-that-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity).

Climate Change Education

Understanding climate change is challenging. Many people feel that because they are not scientists climate change is beyond them. In fact, part of the challenge in understanding climate change is that it's one of these complex issues, like the "green economy," that can quickly become overwhelming. Although having a science background is certainly useful to get an in-depth scientific understanding of the climate change issue, everyone can get educated about the environmental, economic, and social implications of this important global issue. Then, we have a better idea of ways in which to act.

To this end, I want to point to two websites that I've found particularly useful in understanding and keeping up to date with topics related to climate change.

1) CAMEL (Climate, Adaptation, Mitigation, E-Learning); An incredibly well-reserached, free, resource for educators.

2) Climate Communication. A comprehensive site covering the science, current info., action steps, etc. related to climate change. Concise and well-researched.

With the enormous amounts of information about climate change, it's useful to identify a couple of sources that provide accessible, clear information.

Spring of Sustainability Teleseminar Series

One of the greatest areas of interest in the sustainability movement (and many other areas) has been how to scale and spread the word about innovative ideas. The Spring of Sustainability series, a free event developed by the Shift Network and the Sustainable World Coalition, has done a great job in exploring how to best deliver interesting interviews and teleseminars on sustainability topics. Starting on March 26th and running through June 22nd, the Spring of Sustainability team has attracted a wide range of leaders and visionaries in business, education, activism, government and related sectors. The daily half-hour interviews and daylong teleseminars provide a consistency and depth that is magnificent.

I had an opportunity to be part of the daylong Spring of Sustainability's "Thriving Communities" teleseminar--- As a panelist on one 2 hr. session: "Big Picture Context: Global Aspects of Thriving Communities" hosted by Thom Hartmann, with fellow panelists including: Jeff Vander Clute, Claude Lowenz, Michael Lewis and Vandana Shiva; and to co-host with Larry Tackett another 2 hr. session: "Tools for Action: What Can You Do?"in which we invited panelists including: Tina Clarke, J. Manuel Herrera, Charles Eisenstein, Michelle Long and Sobonfu Some and to share their experiences and insights into how we can take action to create more livable communities.

The technology allowed for a lively interactive discussion with participants from the US and overseas calling in and asking questions. The pace of our panel also allowed for reflection and insights that were welcomed by panelists and participants. All sessions were recorded for downloading and listening. An additional panel discussion: "What Works" was hosted by Kevin Danaher.

It's great to see the internet/phone technology accommodate a lively routable discussion and Q/A session for so many people from around the globe. I look forward to seeing more of these types of educational programs with access to a large number of leaders in the sustainability movement for people living in all parts of the globe.

Spring of Sustainability

I've been enjoying listening/participating in the Spring of Sustainability program. Organized by The Shift Network and Sustainable World Coalition, this program started on March 26th and goes until June 22nd. This venture includes a season filled with speakers, presenters, panelists and interviews with the leaders in the sustainability movement. It's an opportunity to get a perspective of current and forthcoming trends and innovations related to education, energy, green building, social media and much more. The flexibility of being able to call in or listen and view powerpoints/images online and then have small group break-out sessions is fabulous. This gives participants an opportunity to discuss the points made in the interviews/panels with others from around the world.

These types of programs show the power of leveraging communications technologies and the blend of the traditional phone with the internet to bring people together and share ideas. It's also been interesting to hear about how topics such a climate change are being presented and received by the general public in different parts of the US and abroad.

Having this program extend over three months gives everyone a way of integrating the material and listening to recordings if unable to join in during the live shows. The next step would be to extend this virtual community by having local gatherings and events in the locations where participants are calling from so everyone meets in person.

Education and Ebooks

For hundreds of years we've been using traditional paper books to convey information. The computer revolution is now coming full spiral with the new computer tablets and smart phones. Apple's recent release of the iBooks app is leading the trend towards exploring new ways of learning, and will likely revolutionize how we read and share information for years to come.

iBooks is changing how we design and read textbooks. It includes: new ways of bookmarking, animations, videos, audio, a dictionary among so many other features. The iBook Author app takes it a step further and allows writers, teachers, students to create books that combine all these multimedia capabilities.

I'm thrilled at the possibilities of this technology to excite kids about learning and envision this wave as the beginning of a shift in how we communicate. The speed with which ebooks are taking hold is astonishing. The cost and materials savings in shifting from paper to electrons is undeniable. Ebooks keep information more current (less outdated textbooks in schools), and allows for students with different learning styles to engage more fully with the topics covered.

Keep an eye out for the "ebook wave" as it crests and schools add more "living textbooks" to their classroom. And as prices drop, their demand will increase. There are some great ebook educational titles coming out, and I was pleased to hear that The Sustainability Revolution was recently selected by Apple to demonstrate the capabilities of ebooks on the iPad platform in academic settings.

Seed Banks and Biodiversity

A week ago, I came across an interesting TEDx talk delivered by David Milarch who heads Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a non-profit dedicated to cloning the world's ancient trees to preserve their genetic structure. In propagating these ancient species from around the world, including giant sequoia, coast redwoods, etc., they hope to create a living library that preserves the genetic structure of these trees and help scientists, perhaps generations from now, learn about their unique qualities that have stood the test of time. One of the questions that comes up is the importance of respecting the habitat integrity of these species so that if/when they are re-planted they remain in their original habitats and not in other regions where they are not originally found.

The Archangel Ancient Tree Archive work also brings to mind other seed storage initiatives including the Millennium Seed Bank Project launched by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 2000 and the Svalbard International Seed Vault in Norway. These efforts underscore the importance of protecting the biodiversity of life on earth and taking action to restore the damage that has been done by saving seeds and preserving the genetic diversity of the planet. These programs also point to taking seed saving back to the local level by doing what farmers and gardeners have done for thousands of years in saving seeds. These local actions will enhance the resiliency of seed saving initiatives rather than depending solely on international mega-seed bank programs.

David Milarch's TEDx Talk:

http://blog.ancienttreearchive.org/?p=315

http://blog.ancienttreearchive.org/?p=300

Related Links:

Plant Genebanks: Food Security. Geoffrey C. Hawtin and Jeremy Cherfas. ActionBioscience

The Moon Trees. David R Williams, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Uplifting Story: Reviving Coral

As this year draws to a close, I ran across an interesting story about reviving coral reefs. Off the coast of Bali a group has been experimenting for over a decade on building metal cages which are electrified with a low voltage. Apparently the electricity stimulates the growth of coral 2 to 6 times faster! An encouraging step forward given the deterioration of coral reefs throughout the world.

I'm a bit weary of "technological fixes;" however, I'm encouraged by the ingenuity and dedication of conservationists willing to try new approaches that remediate our destruction.

Check out details of article and video at at:

Electrified Cages Revive Near-Dead Corals

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/electrified-cages-revive-near-dead-corals.html

YouTube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6hjuEoURPZE