May 2013
31 posts
Eight
1. How is information about urgent environmental issues facing humanity being communicated to the public from the private sector? What about between scientists from different fields? Public/Private sector collaborations have proven to be successful since the unveiling of Nylon at the World Fair in Chicago in 1939. Who will make money? Who will lose money? How is information and protocol...
Seven
1. Within a few Google searches of environmental graduate programs and scholarship sources, I found that there are several hundred environmental causes, organizations, and institutes. What are the 15 most important and powerful? Is it wise to spread out our responses to environmental issues in this manner as we have in the past or would it be beneficial for the groups to cluster into nodes...
Six
1. In terms of environmentalism, what are the important differences and similarities between the words in this list of possible response to many environmental issues: preservation, conservation, restoration, prevention, preparation, adaptation, and mitigation? In what circumstances would one be more appropriate than another? How would one determine that? Who would be responsible for that on...
Five
Are the environmental issues that we face today going to force us into a global transitional state of social, political, psychological, economic, and religious upheaval and change? Are there certain issues that are more volatile than others? What factors are important in determine this? Which social memes (beliefs, customs, stigmas, mantras, doctrines) did we allow to override the respect that...
Four
How does the concept of “systems thinking” help to unify the various and often-disparate cause/effect relationships brought on by human activity? How is this different from how most people think about the planet? Will changing the way people think slow or reverse cumulative damages being caused by current thinking?
Three
What is being done to prevent disastrous and irreversible damages to the natural world? Are we too late? How would we know? Is it better to use our resources to prepare for the challenges we will face if that happens?
Two
Is there a central theme, overriding current, or anchoring idea that can be harnessed by people around the world as a rallying force to drive positive progress in all of the other areas addressed in question 1?
“We make our decisions, and then our decisions turn around and make us.”
– F.W. Boreham (via heartbloodspirit)
“They had a map of the brain, a model of the body, and a pretty good idea of how...”
– Is This Virtual Worm the First Sign of the Singularity? - Alexis C. Madrigal - The Atlantic (via wildcat2030)
One - The Parts
What are our most pressing environmental problems/issues? How is such a judgment made? Who makes it? What criteria are used? Where and when will they manifest? Will we have had the foresight to prepare for them?
Laboratory Equipment: Three Billion-Year-Old Water... →
laboratoryequipment:
A UK-Canadian team of scientists has discovered ancient pockets of water, which have been isolated deep underground for billions of years and contain abundant chemicals known to support life. This water could be some of the oldest on the planet and may even contain life. Not just that, but the…
11 Quotes
He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.
— George Herbert
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
— Friedrich Nietzsche
We create our own unhappiness. The purpose of suffering is to...
Content-Based Reading
Climate Change Genetically Modified Foods Natural and Manmade Disasters Economic Growth and Progress Global Warming Species Extinctions Flooding Habitat Fragmentation Rising Sea Levels Ethical Dilemmas Invasive Species International Conferences and Treaties Political Instability Droughts Disruption of Food Supply ...
Projects Part I
I believe that one of the most fundamental tenets of building a better human society can be best described by the phrase “it takes a village.” Coordinated collaboration can be a most effective and efficient way to solve societal problems. We stand on the precipice of our destinies. It is not my destiny, your destiny, his destiny, or her destiny; it is our collective destiny. I have spent the...
Global carbon dioxide in atmosphere passes... →
For the first time in human history, the concentration of climate-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has passed the milestone level of 400 parts per million (ppm). The last time so much greenhouse gas was in the air was several million years ago, when the Arctic was ice-free, savannah spread across the Sahara desert and sea level was up to 40 metres higher than today.
“It seems to me that the real problem is the mind itself, and not the problem...”
– Jiddu Krishnamurti, Sixth Talk in New Delhi (31 October 1956)
Science Education Is About to Change—And That’s a... →
In this op-ed, science teacher Lauren Prentiss shares why implementing the Next Generation Science Standards is a step in the right direction.
“Even as the Sun doth not wait for prayers and incantations to rise, but shines...”
– Epictetus (c. 55 - c. 135 AD)
April 2013
7 posts
Watchclimateadaptation:
Stephen Flynn is one of America’s foremost experts on cities, disasters, and security. Here, Bloomberg News interviewed Flynn outside and near the Boston Marathon bombing. His answers about how the city will cope is incredibly surprising as he launches into an easy to understand overview of resilience thinking in city planning. A must watch for my readers interested in...
7 tags
March 2013
30 posts
4 tags
Daft Punk Remix
Readers and Supporter:
I have hope. I believe we are reaching a tipping point of change in every areas of human civilization. I’ve been waiting for about 10 years to be able to use this quote in regards to one of those changes. My focus has been on innovative solutions to pave the road towards a sustainable use of ALL planetary resources. I just posted an article about an improved...
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient...”
– Dr. Seuss (via ikenbot)
Cause i can: Strengthening your community thru... →
theyoungsocialist:
The best way to strengthening the community is to make it as independent as possible, one way of doing this is starting a local food garden, whether you live in the city or in the suburbs this is a great project that will benefit and bring the community together.
Start by talking about this project at your local community meeting or by talking to the neighbors, get them...
“You could double the number of synaptic connections in a very simple...”
– Eric R. Kandel, Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist.
A Quest to Understand How Memory Works. (via scipsy)
“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and...”
– Buddha (via shaktilover)
I do all the time :))
