It may be that we live in an age of hyper-connectivity and “big data,” but I contend that the fundamental reason why we’ve managed to construct the most highly unsustainable culture the Earth has ever seen is precisely because we have not been taught to see the connections.
Justin Mog is assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives, a post created in 2009 to coordinate efforts to advance environmental, social and economic responsibility at the University of Louisville. Dr. Mog served with the Peace Corps in Paraguay for three years before coming to UofL in 2009. He also has worked as an environmental educator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has conducted research on sustainable rural development as a Fulbright Scholar in the Philippines.
In this talk, Breton Lorway examines the effects of American Consumerism on the environment. Breton Lorway is a four-year senior at Cushing Academy, and a day student from Princeton, Massachusetts. Being from a small woodsy town, she’s grown up learning to love the earth. She is excited to voice this passion of hers at the TEDx conference, and hopes to further her relationship with the earth by majoring in environmental studies in college.
Matthew Schneider-Mayerson is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of American Studies at the University of Minnesota. He has published articles on American history, politics and literature in journals such as American Studies, Radical History Review, Studies in Popular Culture and The International Journal of Sport & Society. In his dissertation, “Peak Politics: Resource Scarcity and Libertarian Political Culture in the United States,” and a forthcoming article in Environmental Politics, he explores the ‘peak oil’ movement in the context of contemporary responses to environmental crises and the rise of libertarian ideals in American political culture.
In this video, two indices used by environmentalist are explained, namely Ecological Footprint and Environmental footprint. This video is part of a course on becoming a sustainability practitioner available soon on Udemy
In this Climate Matters program we discuss ecological economics, some of the social and ecological problems it would help resolve, the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (minus the one that’s NOT sustainable) and environmental art with Dr. Stanislav Shmelev, Director of Environment Europe.
Massachusetts Sierra Club Greater Boston Group and Biodiversity for a Livable Climate invite you this all-day conference focused on the importance of ecosystem health. Ecosystems across our highly developed region are threatened by climate change. At the same time, local ecosystems can help us to weather the coming climate shocks. Ecosystems are our allies, and there is much that we can do to revitalize them in our yards, streets, neighborhoods, parks, wetlands and waters. Zeyneb Magavi, a lead organizer of Mothers Out Front, will describe these connections.
Keynote speaker Tom Wessels, author of The Myth of Progress, Toward a Sustainable Future, will speak on Self-organization, Co-evolution, Resiliency, and Stability. Self-organization is a natural process—that, as a system grows it also becomes more complex. The talk will focus on how this process works in ecosystems via co-evolution to generate the incredible biodiversity we see in nature. Many examples of regional co-evolved relationships will be used to illustrate how co-evolution works. The talk then shows how this process is a wonderful model for creating sustainable human systems.
In afternoon workshops attendees will meet, connect with and learn from organizations that are practicing restoration and conservation of ecosystems in locations around the Greater Boston region: soils, trees, forests and other plants, wetlands, freshwater streams, lakes and ponds, coastal shores and salt marshes.
The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and most effective grassroots environmental organization. Here in Massachusetts, your local chapter has an over 48-year legacy of protecting the environment with successful legislative, advocacy, and educational campaigns.
Biodiversity for a Livable Climate was founded in 2013 by Jim Laurie, Karl Thidemann, Helen D. Silver, Jane Hammer and Adam Sacks. We saw an urgent need to expand the climate conversation to include the seriously underestimated positive impacts of the biosphere on the climate and physical world. We see how appropriate human approaches to nature may be able to reverse the effects of global warming despite our inability to date to reduce emissions in a timely manner. Our goal is to contribute to planetary regeneration through research, education, collaboration and action to restore essential global biodiversity.
Published on Apr 21, 2018
Massachusetts Sierra Club Greater Boston Group and Biodiversity for a Livable Climate invite you this all-day conference focused on the importance of ecosystem health. Ecosystems across our highly developed region are threatened by climate change. At the same time, local ecosystems can help us to weather the coming climate shocks. Ecosystems are our allies, and there is much that we can do to revitalize them in our yards, streets, neighborhoods, parks, wetlands and waters. Zeyneb Magavi, a lead organizer of Mothers Out Front, will describe these connections.
Keynote speaker Tom Wessels, author of The Myth of Progress, Toward a Sustainable Future, will speak on Self-organization, Co-evolution, Resiliency, and Stability. Self-organization is a natural process—that, as a system grows it also becomes more complex. The talk will focus on how this process works in ecosystems via co-evolution to generate the incredible biodiversity we see in nature. Many examples of regional co-evolved relationships will be used to illustrate how co-evolution works. The talk then shows how this process is a wonderful model for creating sustainable human systems.
In afternoon workshops attendees will meet, connect with and learn from organizations that are practicing restoration and conservation of ecosystems in locations around the Greater Boston region: soils, trees, forests and other plants, wetlands, freshwater streams, lakes and ponds, coastal shores and salt marshes.
The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and most effective grassroots environmental organization. Here in Massachusetts, your local chapter has an over 48-year legacy of protecting the environment with successful legislative, advocacy, and educational campaigns.
Biodiversity for a Livable Climate was founded in 2013 by Jim Laurie, Karl Thidemann, Helen D. Silver, Jane Hammer and Adam Sacks. We saw an urgent need to expand the climate conversation to include the seriously underestimated positive impacts of the biosphere on the climate and physical world. We see how appropriate human approaches to nature may be able to reverse the effects of global warming despite our inability to date to reduce emissions in a timely manner. Our goal is to contribute to planetary regeneration through research, education, collaboration and action to restore essential global biodiversity.
You might not be able to see them, but they’re in the water. Although trash heaps are easier to spot in waterways, microplastics—pieces of plastic smaller than five millimeters—have started to stir more concern. Acting as sponges, the pieces soak up the chemicals around them and often make their way through the food chain, ending up on dinner plates. Most microplastics are created over time from larger pieces or directly from microbeads in products like face washes or toothpaste. The pieces are so small they pass through waste treatment plants and into waterways.
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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