Green Group discussion

Who is best suited to inform the public of environmental issues AND spur them to action? I think that it's going to take a special blend of all three. I don't believe that any one of the professions, on its own, has what it's going to take to facilitate true change.

What do you think?

I'd have to agree with you Ann, I think all three groups and politicians need to work together not only to educate the public but also to set the example.

As an ecological consultant I advice developers on how to reduce their environmental impacts to within acceptable recoverable limits and also how to improve the environment as they go. As a result I often get asked 'why should we, do you do anything to limit your impacts or improve the environment?' To which I can honestly say that yes I do, I walk or cycle whenever I can, I think about where my food comes from and how much waste I have and how I can reduce it and I volunteer on local environment schemes to manage and improve the local environment. This is often met with surprise but afterwards they are much more inclined to take the advice on board because they know I do it as well as preach it and in my opinion that is one of the key things that is missing from mainstream environmental issues, the public get told what to do but rarely see the tellers doing it themselves.

I agree with you Ann. Professionals, in all spheres, need to work together and act for a sustainable society which did not destroy the natural environment on which we depend.

Our hability to understand the natural system that make life on earth possible should be the most important part of Education from primary, secondary to colleges, universities and the continuing education, training of professionals.

I don't believe, like you, that any one of the professions, on its own, could facilitate a true change. To inform the public of environmental issues is a great challenge for our future which need courage, abilities and the will to act.

As David W Orr wrote, we need to reflect at " the creation of meaningful connections between head, hands and heart as well "

In addition to this interesting discussion Ann, I would like to propose some books for the future discussions of the section Educators/Students Green book club.

1. Seven Complex Lessons in Education for the Future by Edgar Morin

Here's a biography of Edgar Morin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Morin

2 . The Symbiotic Man: A New Understanding of the Organization of Life and a Vision of the Future by Joel de Rosnay

3 . " The Macrocosme: A New World Scientific System " by Joel de Rosnay

Here's a biography of Joel de Rosnay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joël_de_...

4. 2020 : les scénarios du futur : Comprendre le monde qui vient by Joel de Rosnay ( in French )

5 . Les nouveaux travailleurs du savoir by Jean-Pierre Bouchez and Joel de Rosnay ( in French )

In our knowledge economy, this book stands for the first time a comprehensive overview of workers and professional knowledge. What are their characteristics? What is their way of working? What roles do they play in the knowledge economy? the author gives a complete description of knowledge workers and he offers a precise and operational radiography through multiple illustrations differences between knowledge workers and knowledge professionals.

6 . The Science of Leonardo: Inside the Mind of the Great Genius of the Renaissance by Fritjof Capra

7. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day by Michael Gelb

I agree, Sam. Leading by example is one of the most powerful forms of communication we can hope to utilize. Sadly, here in the states, there is far too little of it from our governmental leaders. It gratifies me, though, to see the swelling of grassroots efforts here.

Thanks, Michelle! I'll take a look at some of those books. If you have read or are reading some of them, please feel free to post in the educator's club section about them.

Thanks Ann. I have added the seven books at The Green group bookshelf " Teachers/ Education" . I have read three of them (1, 4, 7) and I propose to you to add Edgar Morin's book "Seven complex lessons in Education for the Future " for a discussion at the educator's club section.
This book is a short, essential reading about Edgar Morin's thoughts on Education.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...
I have added a link to download the book, so that each member could participate at the discussion of the Green Educator's club section. " Head, Hands and Heart, as well " !

I hope that your educator 's book club section will start discussions with members of the group who have read or are currently reading or will read one of these books.

We have a similar problem here too Ann, our politicians seem to wrapped up in keeping themselves in office and lining their pockets to make much of an effort on the environmental front. I think that's why the relevent professions and grass roots workers and starting to force the changes themselves, we'd be hanging round forever waiting for the politicians!

Hi,

This seems like a suitable topic in which to recommend a new book.
Connecting the Drops: A Citizens' Guide to Protecting Water Resources

This is all about helping a concerned citizen or group to educate themselves about water - from watersheds to wetlands - and see how their own environment is affected. Clean water, flooding, wildlife and biodiversity are all shown as important, and development, open-cast mining, tree removal and various pollutants explained in terms of how they affect water.

There is a guide to planning a campaign around your concern and checklists of what a good environment should look like - keystone and vulnerable species etc. The author showed that there are times to call in an expert for a full survey, and other times when citizens should attend planning meetings themselves.

I find this an excellent guide for householders, local journalists and local authorities.

Clare wrote: "Hi,

This seems like a suitable topic in which to recommend a new book.
Connecting the Drops: A Citizens' Guide to Protecting Water Resources

This is all about helping a concerned..."

Looks very cool. Thanks for sharing this!

School teachers of science are now apparently coming under pressure in some areas - Arizona is cited - to reduce or remove information about climate change. I can't believe people can be so stupid. Aren't the kids going to see climate devastation on the TV news?
"What's causing the big wildfires and hurricanes Mom?"
"Must be a Sign from Above dear."

So the National Teachers Group has issued a position statement. They claim that only continuing evolution has caused them this much trouble in the past, and the climate change trouble is worse. Which is odd, because stable weather and polar ice isn't laid down in the Old Testament. Methinks there must be a lot of money behind keeping kids ignorant of this issue, therefore a lot of profit to be made.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13...

Aren't the kids going to see climate devastation on the TV news?

That is exactly what the internet does, it spreads information past all obstacles. It was originally made for national emergencies and broken lines of communication. Unfortunately there is going to be no lack of new information to see or hear about.

The last earthquake in Japan triggered 3800 landslides. It also demolished the road system in that area by causing areas of the roads to drop down a couple of feet or more, making an otherwise perfectly good road impassable.

The Japanese have added a new category to their monthly national economic reports, loss due to natural disasters. This summer they have had a major event about every 10 days. They are due for another weekend of very heavy rains, from a typhoon that is passing on the north side by on its way to China and heavy rains from unstable atmospheric conditions to the south. It has been reported that it is going to take 3 months to get all the damage repaired, providing nothing else happens.

The delays in repairing storm damage are starting to become common place. There is still damage from super storm Sandy that hasn't been fixed. Puerto Rico still isn't back where it was. Places on the east coast still have infrastructure damage from the heavier than normal rains this summer. There is already some talk that it might take up to 3 months to repair the all the critical infrastructure damage from hurricane Florence.

It is only going to get worse as the damage continues to pile up. I would not be surprised if countries started charging a natural disaster tax as it becomes apparent that private donations are not going to be able to cover all the future costs of natural disasters. People can only give so many times. Or else hire the people who want to help permanently.

Unofficially the governments are relying on not helping to fix damages [spend money] because the people in the affected areas can't provide the local funds to get the repairs initiated. Sometimes matching grants are another way of saying no.

Dull Disasters?: How planning ahead will make a difference

See my review.

The kids I have most to do with, nephew and niece, look at the internet and tv for games, cartoons, American kids' school stories and cheerful guys talking them through game play. They are pre-teen and I wasn't very interested in news at their age, though I read widely.

Sigh. This is a very sad sign of the times in the U.S. Science has become totally politicized and polarizing. Scientific consensus is just "opinion" in the eyes of idealogues, and "believing" in climate change means you "want to destroy the economy." It's bizarre, and our current president exacerbates the worst aspects of this trend.

I totally understand someone wanting to openly debate which policies are best to deal with climate change; i.e., how do we mitigate global warming in a way that minimizes economic disruption. That's a legitimate topic for discussion, where reasonable people can honestly disagree. But refusing to acknowledge the problem because it's a "tree-hugger" conspiracy to wreck America? That attitude baffles me.

Change Is Coming Though Not The Way We Imagined It

The key topic is how the climate change is affecting the economy. It is destroying the infrastructure everyone takes for granted. You can bluster, use facts any way you want, or outright ignore them. That only works until it starts costing money the moment it happens. Then people take notice.

The climate has already turned, it's increased it's power over our lives by a factor of 10. People are now factoring in the costs of damage from climate sources. We have made the belief in money a religious experience. You can talk all day, or write book after book but people are always going to follow the money. Publishing the works of Charles Dickens is still a flourishing business. How many times does his stories have to be read? Now the climate changes are causing money to bleed out on a monthly basis. Its only going to get worse because we won't be able to repair the damage fast enough to tackle the next event. And weather repeats quite often which means we will have areas that we won't even be able to keep repaired.

The attitude about climate is going to change quite quickly, but not because of awareness of what we are doing, it will change because what we are doing will continually fail to work. The weather is terraforming the infrastructure we take for granted.

The weather is going to have us start believing in superstitions again because our lives might not be all that safe anymore on a day the weather decides to show its face, simply by darkening the sky, like in the old days before real time weather reports. According to the old standards, the old way of thinking, Hurricane Florence is supposedly a 1,000 year storm. News Flash: We won't have to wait long for the next one.

In the New World, with the new way of doing things, those that stay the course and stick their heads in the sand are going to find the world to be a very different place.

After the hurricanes and flooding of the last two years, it seems nothing can be called a 1,000 year event any more. Maybe nature is giving us a lot together because something has changed. Once you accept that - and insurance firms have - you can start to look at what, why and how.

The Ecocentrists: A History of Radical Environmentalism

Good book on how America's eyes were gradually opened to environmental despoliation and the need to conserve. See my review.

"it seems nothing can be called a 1,000 year event any more."

That's the whole problem, everything got bigger, the 1,000 year events still exist, we haven't seen one yet and we don't want to see what a 1,000 year event has become.

Everyday stuff has simply gotten bigger, they still have the same frequency, they are just bigger. One reason Florence is big is because it is moving very slow. It is said to be moving slower than a person can walk. Normally the storms make landfall and keep moving inland at a good pace. That automatically limits the rainfall.

It might very well turn out that hurricanes do have a maximum wind speed, which is totally irrelevant now that we can see a storm like that stay in the same spot for 24 hours. There are weather conditions on other planets where what we call storms last forever. The same forces that keep heat waves in place could also trap a storm on the coast where it has unlimited water supply. Normally storms clean out stagnant weather conditions, no one is thinking that storms could become stagnant situations themselves. Noah doesn't seem so far fetched now. Perhaps for awhile the rain storms just kept getting longer and longer and building a big boat was not such an unusual idea. People were limited as to how far they could travel in a day back then. People have discovered vast sediment deposits that could indicate a major flood did take place.

A couple of hundred years ago events that happened on another continent might never be heard about and the after effects would never be felt. The insulation of time and space we enjoyed as a protective shield is gone. I figured that meant that things that happened far away could affect our daily lives fairly rapidly, if not immediately. I did not think that it meant that events within our own normally small space would regularly expand past their normal boundaries or that natural events would slow down to a crawl.

The gas line explosions around Boston that covered 3 towns is a stark reminder of how only so much energy can fit within a confined space. As people keep converting to natural gas, more gas has to be pumped through the same pipes, to do that, the pressure has to be increased. If a problem arises everyone is going to know about it immediately.

Nicholas Grimshaw wins Royal Gold Medal for Architecture:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddes...
Designer of the Eden Project, Cornwall. Go see it. Just go.

https://www.edenproject.com/

Clare wrote: "Nicholas Grimshaw wins Royal Gold Medal for Architecture:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddes...
Designer of the Eden Project, Cor..."

This looks utterly fascinating. Clare, I assume you've been? What were your impressions of the experience?

I have been once so far and intend to revisit. I'll put a summary on the thread about visits to botanic gardens and a link here.
No time this minute, college.

You may have heard of Dance Your PhD. This encourages scientists to get the message of their researches across to the community by means of interpretive dance.

I highly recommend the PhD of the effects on intertidal communities of sea star decline.

" Monica Moritsch from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with “Intertidal community consequences of sea star wasting syndrome.” "
Enjoy. I've left the others in for comparison, the forensics one is worth a look too.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/...

Dr Polly Atkin tells us about ecopoetry and the presumption that one has to be fit, able-bodied and probably male to do challenging deeds in the open environment.

Courtesy of New Welsh Review.

https://www.newwelshreview.com/articl...

Peter Diamandis is a communicator about science and computers. Here, he tells us about the two very real prospects of getting humanity to a multi-planetary species.

" Falcon 9 has transformed the space industry, reinventing what people consider possible and driving down launch costs 10-fold, making reusable rockets a reality.
While the Space Shuttle could deliver payloads to the International Space Station for over $54,500 per kilogram, the Falcon 9 does the job for less than 5 percent of that cost at $2,720 per kilogram. "

https://singularityhub.com/2019/05/24...

A female scientist discovered the mechanics of climate change.

https://www.audubon.org/news/the-fema...

" Two hundred years ago today, on July 17, 1819, Eunice Foote was born. "

Sir Ken Robinson tells us in a TedX talk that the education system is killing off creativity, as it is designed to produce university professors and the arts are squeezed out of students. He assures us that this won't be enough for us to get through the next generation. We need to be creative.

https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_rob...

I totally agree that we need collaboration. The more expertise and backgrounds we put together, the better.
In my case, I am a marine scientist and a writer, and I've written a fantasy science novel to merge art and science.

Thanks, Neus, that sounds fascinating.

I see you are based in Spain; I post snippets from Costa News here but do keep us informed of any issues that arise near you.

Clare wrote: "Thanks, Neus, that sounds fascinating.

I see you are based in Spain; I post snippets from Costa News here but do keep us informed of any issues that arise near you."

Thanks, Clare.

A scientist and educator could no longer be suitably academic and detached. Objective observation gave way to peaceful activism.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/11...

I read a good many environmental books from Cornell.

"Cornell has earned a platinum sustainability rating – the top status – from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the international group that tracks environmental stewardship for more than 1,000 college campuses.

After maintaining a gold rating since 2012, Cornell earned 85 points in the group’s STARS (Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System) to become the first Ivy and the sixth university overall to reach platinum.

Cornell’s strong sustainability education component is a major driver that led to its higher score, said Sarah Zemanick, director of campus sustainability."

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020...

Research requires rigorous standards especially when looking at a pre-computerised past. Even articles on the internet are not necessarily correct.
Here, a non-fiction author tells of researching for a book of military history sparked by visiting a graveyard. Shabnam Vasisht, an Irish-Indian established author, took great care with her work and as a result the cemetery has cleaned up many old gravestones and is holding Raj Tours.

https://www.writing.ie/tell-your-own-...

Shabnam Vasisht

This article is about silencing environmental scientists in Australia because their findings are not wanted by those in control.
Phys.org is a reputable source. Always cite reputable sources.

"Our study, just published, shows how important scientific information about environmental threats often does not reach the public or decision-makers, including government ministers.

In some cases, scientists self-censor information for fear of damaging their careers, losing funding or being misrepresented in the media. In others, senior managers or ministers' officers prevented researchers from speaking truthfully on scientific matters.

This information blackout, termed "science suppression," can hide environmentally damaging practices and policies from public scrutiny. The practice is detrimental to both nature and democracy."

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-austral...

Graphic Artists are increasingly becoming important in communicating science.
Some concepts are easier to understand if we can visualise them, while they may reach people with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, who can't digest all of a printed page.
I'm finding great visualisations on Infographic. Here is a series of maps of the world's watersheds.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/maps...

Experimental archaeology has taught us so much about lives of people in the past.

"Explorer, writer and film-maker Tim Severin has died aged 80. The adventurer was renowned for his daring attempts to recreate the legendary voyages and journeys of colourful figures such as Sinbad the Sailor, Robinson Crusoe and Genghis Khan.

In 1976-1977 Mr Severin successfully completed the epic Brendan Voyage, a 7,200km Atlantic crossing from Cuas an Bhodaigh (Brandon Creek) in Co Kerry to Newfoundland.

In doing so Mr Severin and his crew proved that the legendary sixth century voyage of St Brendan, as depicted in the Navigatio Sancti Brendani, was possible.

Tim Severin undertook the ambitious voyage in a 36-foot hide-covered currach which had been built by hand using traditional materials and methods. His route took him north to the Scottish Hebrides, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, rounding Greenland before making landfall on Peckford Island, Newfoundland."

https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/1219/118...

RIP, Tim Severin.

A celebration is in order as Prof. Jocelyn Bell Burnell is awarded the world's oldest science prize.
I filmed this lady as a Guest of Honour at Worldcon 2019 in Dublin. I was the official videographer.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ulster/2021/0...

"Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell was awarded the Copley Medal, the Royal Society's highest prize.

Other recipients include Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin.

Prof Bell Burnell said: "I am delighted to be the recipient of this year's Copley Medal, a prize which has been awarded to so many incredible scientists.

"With many more women having successful careers in science, and gaining recognition for their transformational work, I hope there will be many more female Copley winners in the near future.

"My career has not fitted a conventional - male - pattern.

"Being the first person to identify pulsars would be the highlight of any career; but I have also swung sledgehammers and built radio telescopes; set up a successful group of my own studying binary stars; and was the first female president of the Institute of Physics and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

"I hope that my work and presence as a senior woman in science continues to encourage more women to pursue scientific careers."

The award includes a £25,000 gift which Prof Bell Burnell will add to the Institute of Physics' Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund, providing grants to graduate students from under-represented groups in physics."

Shared on Twitter! Happy news!

That's fantastic!

Sir David Attenborough, responsible for educating more people about nature than probably anyone has ever been, shares an extraordinary moment, due to his coverage of scientific work.

https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2022...

"The naturalist's latest project highlights fossilised remains of a Thescelosaurus believed by scientists to have been killed by the Chicxulub asteroid 66 million years ago.

A fragment of the rock may also have been found, preserved within a tiny "spherule" of clay, at the Tanis fossil site in North Dakota that the TV show is centred around.
...

""An object the size of Mount Everest hit the Earth and that was the end of the Cretaceous – and that’s an extraordinary thing to happen.

"And of course it’s extraordinary too because it caused the end of the dinosaurs. And the life on this planet had to restart."

Attenborough, 95, recalled the "electric moment" when tests showed the chemical profile of a "spherule"" matched that of the asteroid.

"It was a moment of justification for the whole thing really," he said.

The broadcaster said information gleaned from the work of the scientists made the extinction event "very, very vivid indeed".

He added: "Because when you see the spherules in the gills of the fish it is extraordinary to understand the nature of that evidence, it is extraordinary to hold that in your hand and say 'this spherule fell within hours of the asteroid impact’.

"This is evidence of the event that caused 75% of species on earth to disappear. And you have a heart of flint not have it beat just a little faster when you’re faced with that sort of thing."

The documentary will see Attenborough, palaeontologist Robert DePalma and BBC Studios cameras exploring the Tanis site over three years.

Special visual effects will transport Attenborough back in time to the late Cretaceous period to witness the creatures who lived at Tanis, before recreating the events of the last day of the dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs: The Final Day with Sir David Attenborough will be broadcast on BBC One on 15 April."

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-envi...

"Sir David Attenborough has been named a Champion of the Earth by the UN's Environment Programme.

The prestigious award recognises the 95-year-old's commitment to telling stories about the natural world and climate change.

Accepting the award, Sir David said the world must take action now to protect nature and the planet.

His celebrated documentaries include The Green Planet and A Plastic Ocean.

Sir David said that environmental success stories should give us hope that change is possible."

Tony Juniper.
Tony Juniper

https://www.theguardian.com/environme...

"Our entire civilisation depends on animals. It’s time we recognised their true value
Tony Juniper
We must restore our largely broken relationship with nature if we are to ensure the planet’s future – and our own"

"Tony Juniper is chair of Natural England. This is an edited version of one of 19 essays titled What Have Animals Ever Done for Us? brought together by the RSPCA. Each calls for an urgent re-evaluation of humankind’s relationship with animals"

https://rspca.org.uk/essays

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust tells me:

""The future of life on earth depends on our ability to take action."

Huge congratulations to Sir David Attenborough on receiving a SECOND knighthood for services to television and conservation! 👏🎖️"

MIT is providing free, graduate level courses online. To gain a qualification, and if you wish to progress to use these as degree modules, you would have to make a payment, but this would be tailored to your income.

Plenty to choose from, including chemistry, biology, data analysis, business, calculus, renewable energy.

https://openlearning.mit.edu/courses-...

This is the page which explains about the MicroMasters Program Credential in Development Policy. The introductory module is The Challenges of Global Poverty. This module is taught by two Nobel Prize winners.

https://mitx-micromasters.zendesk.com...-

Welcome!

Pramod wrote: "https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7..."

Thanks! Mod Jimmy has written a good review of this book.

https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2022...

"A new scientific research vessel which will help to combat climate change has docked in Belfast after sea trials in the Antarctic - complete with its Co Derry captain.

The RRS Sir David Attenborough is a £200 million state of the art ship packed with equipment to measure the impact of global warming at the poles and right across the planet.

The ship should really be known by another name. A public competition was run to name it when it was being built.

Some 125,000 people suggested Boaty McBoatface."

Sharing an upcoming talk online. Free to attend. Sent to me by Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Join the Union of Concerned Scientists for a virtual conversation with writers across disciplines who explore our impact on the planet through their writing. They will discuss how their different genres serve to inform, move, and inspire action.

UCS Conversation
Writing for Impact: How Narrative Inspires Change
Date: Monday, December 12
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT
https://click.everyaction.com/k/55436...

Register for the virtual conversation today.

https://click.everyaction.com/k/55436...

Speakers:

Chantal Bilodeau, Playwright and Founding Artistic Director, Arts and Climate Initiative
Jessica Hernandez, PhD, Author, Fresh Banana Leaves
Kim Stanley Robinson, Author, The Ministry for the Future
Introduction by UCS President Johanna Chao Kreilick. Moderated by UCS Media Director Lisa Nurnberger.

Learn more about our speakers before the program.

If you have any questions about the event, please email us at events@ucsusa.org."

Awesome, thanks for sharing this. I'm registered!

See you there!

Thanks for the info! I'm registered too, but I don't know if I'll make it. It will be 1am in Spain...