Published on Aug 17, 2015
It’s been nearly two weeks since an EPA accident at a defunct Colorado mine fouled rivers in multiple states, and among the hardest hit residents are the Navajos. Special correspondent Kathleen McCleery reports from New Mexico.
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
Posted in Uncategorized
Published on Aug 17, 2015
Californians are already preparing themselves for a rough winter thanks to El Nino weather pattern, which involves the warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean. Some are hoping that it will bring relief given the historic drought and others are expressing fear over the potential damages. Lindsay France has more from Los Angeles.
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
Posted in Uncategorized
Published on Jun 19, 2015
Three-part drama documentary series. Anita Dobson stars as Elizabeth I, and Dan Snow tells the story of how England came within a whisker of disaster in summer 1588.
Part 2:
Part 3
Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted By: Irina SlavPosted date: August 17, 2015in: Breaking NewsNo Comments
A cave in central China that was used for over 500 years and contains inscriptions detailing the effects of droughts on the local communities is the latest site where the long-terms effects of climate change on a society can be studied. The inscriptions in Dayu Cave were discovered and examined by an international team of researchers, who found they referred to seven separate drought events between 1520 and 1920. These events not only interfered with the physical wellbeing of the people living in the region but also caused social and political tensions that affected the course of history.
One of the researchers, Sebastian Breitenbach from Cambridge University, told Heritage Daily that the inscriptions are further proof that droughts cause social and political instability, adding that records from other caves in China as well as in lakes have revealed a probable link between droughts and the demise of the Tang, Yuan, and Ming dynasties.
The idea that climate change was instrumental in the demise of several Chinese dynasties is not new, but Dayu Cave in the Qinling Mountains in central China offers direct historical evidence of this impact, the researchers write in a paper published in Scientific Reports. The cave is located in an area where most of the rainfall takes place during the summer monsoon. The mountain in which it lies, for its part, is a major recharge point for local rivers. The inscriptions found on the cave’s walls revealed that the place was visited often over the 500-year period, at least 70 times, the authors note in their paper. The droughts described in these inscriptions occurred in 1528, 1596, 1707, 1756, 1839, 1891, and in 1894. According to the inscriptions, the visits to the cave were simultaneously practical and ceremonial. One inscription cited in the paper reads as follows: “On May 24th, 17th year of the Emperor Guangxu period, Qing Dynasty [the traditional Chinese calendar,
equivalent to June 30th, 1891 CE], the local mayor, Huaizong Zhu led more than 200 people into the cave to retrieve water. A fortuneteller named Zhenrong Ran prayed for rain during a ceremony”. Three years later 120 people came back to the cave for water and prayers, as told by another inscription. A third one, from the 1707 drought, related that the governor of Ningqiang district came to the cave to pray for rain.
…(read more).
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
Posted in Uncategorized
August 16, 2015 Rev. Matt Schultz,
Religion and science both deal in mystery and wonder as we seek to make sense of the vastness of the world. There are times when the scale of the universe is too big. It’s hard to fathom infinity; even a scale such as a hundred years can be difficult to digest.
When faced with the topic of climate change, skepticism was a natural response. There was a time when more studies were appropriate. There was a time when it was reasonable to question if it was human-caused. There was a time when it was understandable to think the effects were so far in the future that it seemed unreal.
That time has passed. What once may have seemed like a far-off, abstract problem is now visible in our daily lives, and the ability to deny it is disappearing as quickly as the glaciers around us.
Recognition of an impending crisis means accepting responsibility to avert it. Ethics vary from religion to religion, but there are some things on which nearly every religion agrees. One is that we are to care for others. Another is that this care is active: It is not sufficient to simply do no harm. We are called to the higher purpose of actively caring for others. If we are aware of impending harm coming to someone, we are duty-bound by the ethics of our religious beliefs to take action to prevent that harm. This ethic of active care binds us together despite the differences in our belief systems.
…(read more).
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
Posted in Uncategorized
Published on Mar 18, 2014
In this clip we see an alternate version of a scene from the FALL AND WINTER. Grace Lee Boggs describers her vision for the next American Revolution, and Chris Hedges explains how the corporate structures which we currently rely upon are terminal. Although this is is similar to what ended up in the final cut, I like this as a standalone clip, which follows Grace’s original interview a little more closely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHgidtjfXfA
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
Posted in Uncategorized
Published on Mar 18, 2014
This clip features Chris Hedges speaking about non-historical values, and the importance of living life as an individual. Bruce Damer compliments this by adding that man-made structures shatter, yet resilient individuals can transcend catastrophe. I really love the way both of them speak to this point, and it’s one of my favorite moments that never made the final cut. I’m glad that people will now have a chance to hear these eloquent meditations on the importance of living life as an individual.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHgidtjfXfA
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
Posted in Uncategorized
Published on Mar 18, 2014
Shortly after we finished shooting FALL AND WINTER we launched a Kickstarter campaign to get to a rough edit with the hundreds of hours of footage we had amassed. We wanted to show potential contributors a general impression of the film with this teaser. There’s some nice moments, and I think still works quite well as a secondary trailer or teaser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHgidtjfXfA
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
Posted in Uncategorized
A decade ago, Tim Flannery’s #1 international bestseller, The Weather Makers, was one of the first books to break the topic of climate change out into the general conversation. Today, Earth’s climate system is fast approaching a crisis. Political leadership has not kept up, and public engagement with the issue of climate change has declined. Opinion is divided between technological optimists and pessimists who feel that catastrophe is inevitable. The publication of this new book is timed for the lead-up to the Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015, which aims to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate from all the nations in the world. This book anticipates and will influence the debates.
Time is running out, but catastrophe is not inevitable. Around the world people are now living with the consequences of an altered climate—with intensified and more frequent storms, wildfires, droughts and floods. For some it’s already a question of survival. Drawing on the latest science, Flannery gives a snapshot of the trouble we are in and more crucially, proposes a new way forward, including rapidly progressing clean technologies and a “third way” of soft geo-engineering. Tim Flannery, with his inimitable style, makes this urgent issue compelling and accessible. This is a must-read for anyone interested in our global future.
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
Posted in Uncategorized
Published on Aug 17, 2015
The life and career of Bernie Sanders is the subject of this TDC original mini-documentary. Senator Sanders (Independent – Vermont) is running for the Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton.
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
Posted in Uncategorized
Transition Studies 