Biologist and Pulitzer winner E.O. Wilson has spent his life studying animals and fighting for their conservation. As species go extinct at 1,000 times the normal rate thanks to human interference, Wilson’s new book “Half Earth” holds a bold plan to preserve the world’s biodiversity: set aside half of the entire planet for natural habitats. Jeffrey Brown talks to Wilson for more.
Agroecology is our best option for creating an agrifood system capable of nurturing people, societies, and the planet. But it is still not widespread. Fertile Ground offers nine case studies, authored by agroecologists from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, and Europe, that demonstrate how the endogenous practice of agroecology can be “scaled” so that it is known by more farmers, practiced more deeply, and integrated in planning and policy.
Scientists in Gorongosa National Park have relocated animals from other parks and reserves to restore diminished wildlife populations. Relocating animals requires teams of scientists working together to carefully plan the effort. See how this was done to increase the number of zebras in Gorongosa in this engaging video for the classroom.
Biologists Piotr Naskrecki and Jennifer Guyton identify and record the diversity of species in Gorongosa National Park’s Cheringoma Plateau.
An important part of the conservation effort in Gorongosa National Park is to identify the species living in the park, to ensure their protection and monitor their recovery. Every year, teams of scientists conduct biodiversity surveys in different areas of the park. In this film, we join Piotr Naskrecki as he leads the survey project in a particularly remote area: the limestone gorges of the Cheringoma Plateau. He has assembled an international team of experts who use a variety of innovative methods to capture species large and small. Part of the team is bat expert Jennifer Guyton, a graduate student at Princeton University, who identifies several new species of bats and discusses their important role as indicator species.
The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory is a hub of renewed scientific and educational activity in Mozambique, and its main goals are the documentation of Gorongosa’s vast biological richness, management of its restoration, and training of a new cadre of local conservationists and educators. It coordinates a wide range of exploratory and restoration projects, ranging from the documentation of soil biodiversity, to tracking of lion prides, to the effectiveness of reforestation effort of Mt. Gorongosa, to the pollination biology of canopy orchids. The Laboratory places a strong emphasis on dissemination of information about Gorongosa’s biological wealth, thus helping turn Mozambique into a beacon of education about biodiversity conservation, and a key destination for both tourism and research in Africa.
People’s Climate Justice Forum with Naomi Klein, Tom Goldtooth and Carlos Marentes, Wed, May 10, 2017 at 6:30 PM
with….Naomi Klein is an award winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of the international bestsellers This Changes Everything (2014), The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2007). Since This Changes Everything was published, Klein’s primary focus has been on putting the book’s ideas into action. She is one of the organizers and authors of Canada’s Leap Manifesto, a blueprint for a rapid and justice-based transition off fossil fuels. The Leap has been endorsed by over 200 organizations, tens of thousands of individuals, and has inspired similar climate justice initiatives around the world.
“Utilizing NASA’s ‘Panoply’ for Geoscience Data Analysis in the Classroom” with Nicole Dulaney
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2017 – 11:30AM
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Gutman Hall 302, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge
The Harvard Graduate School of Education presents: “Utilizing NASA’s ‘Panopoly’ for Geoscience Data Analysis in the Classroom” with Nicole Dulaney, Hillcrest High School Earth Science Faculty, NASA Associate Researcher, and Math for America Early Career Fellow. Limited seating is available.
Official trailer for Mission Blue, a Netflix original documentary. Mission Blue tells the story of world-renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle as she travels the globe on an urgent mission to shed light on the dire condition of Earth’s oceans.
On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats are preparing to mount a filibuster today against Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, as Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell prepares to change Senate rules to confirm Supreme Court nominees by a simple majority—the so-called nuclear option. The move would pave the way for Gorsuch’s confirmation in an up-or-down vote Friday and could radically change how future Supreme Court appointees are selected. Ahead of today’s showdown, Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley held a filibuster-like session overnight Tuesday, speaking for over 15 hours in protest of Gorsuch’s nomination. Merkley repeatedly cited the refusal of Republicans to even consider President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court in March of last year—Merrick Garland.
Sen. Jeff Merkley: “And to confirm anyone but Merrick Garland to this seat confirms the Senate as the thief who took the seat for the first time in U.S. history and transported to another president in an effort to pack the court.”
Meanwhile, Politico is reporting Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch borrowed heavily from several authors for his 2006 book and an academic article—without citing their work. In one chapter in “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia,” Gorsuch lifted entire passages from an Indiana Law Journal article, with minor additions and changes to verb tenses. Syracuse University writing professor Rebecca Moore Howard told Politico, “Each of the individual incidents constitutes a violation of academic ethics. I’ve never seen a college plagiarism code that this would not be in violation of.”
Welcome to Transition Studies. To prosper for very much longer on the changing Earth humankind will need to move beyond its current fossil-fueled civilization toward one that is sustained on recycled materials and renewable energy. This is not a trivial shift. It will require a major transition in all aspects of our lives.
This weblog explores the transition to a sustainable future on our finite planet. It provides links to current news, key documents from government sources and non-governmental organizations, as well as video documentaries about climate change, environmental ethics and environmental justice concerns.
The links are listed here to be used in whatever manner they may be helpful in public information campaigns, course preparation, teaching, letter-writing, lectures, class presentations, policy discussions, article writing, civic or Congressional hearings and citizen action campaigns, etc. For further information on this blog see: About this weblog. and How to use this weblog.
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