Crew Commentary Author
A River Bursts into Flames from Nearby Fracking
tsedevino • 04.22.2016
“So much methane gas is now bubbling up through the Condamine River in Queensland, Australia that it exploded with fire and held a large flame. Gas seeping into the river began shortly after coal seam gas operations started nearby and is growing in volume and the stretch of river affected is expanding in length.
Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham travelled to Chinchilla in South Western Queensland to investigate the impact of the coal seam gas industry on the environment as part of the Greens’ campaign to ban fracking and unconventional gas in Australia.”
GAME OVER for Climate Change
tsedevino • 04.21.2016
“Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo once said: ‘For those who don’t play video games, video games are irrelevant. They think all video games must be too difficult.’
I say, same goes for fighting climate change. Life as we know it is about to end. Quite literally!
Nowadays, everyone is busy in their own bubbles, whether it is sustaining a living, building a career or raising kids. We don’t often look around to check what is happening around us. Even if we do notice major issues such as poverty, pollution, climate change, natural disasters, we immediately think, ‘this is out of my league, there is no way I could solve such issues, I prefer to stay in my bubble.’
But what if these major issues will start affecting your bubble? What if you can still move on with your same routine, same lifestyle and still help in solving one of these looming and world-crushing dangers?”
World Food Supply Suffers when Pollinators Do
tsedevino • 04.19.2016
“The birds and the bees need help. Also, the butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles and bats. Without an international effort, a new report warns, increasing numbers of species that promote the growth of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of food each year face extinction.
Pollinators, including some 20,000 species of wild bees, contribute to the growth of fruit, vegetables and many nuts, as well as flowering plants. Plants that depend on pollination make up 35 percent of global crop production volume with a value of as much as $577 billion a year. The agricultural system, for which pollinators play a key role, creates millions of jobs worldwide.”
March: Another Hottest Month
tsedevino • 04.18.2016
“NASA’s March temperature data was released Friday, showing that it was the planet’s second-most unusually mild month on record, only somewhat cooler than February 2016.
The NASA data shows the monthly global average temperature was 1.28 degrees Celsius, or 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit, above the 20th century average. According to NASA, six straight months from 2015 into 2016 have had a temperature anomaly of at least 1 degree Celsius. That had not happened in any month prior to this record warm stretch.”
WATCH: Food Inc.
tsedevino • 04.16.2016
Food, Inc. is a 2008 American documentary film directed by filmmaker Robert Kenner. The Academy Award-nominated film examines corporate farming in the United States, concluding that agribusiness produces food that is unhealthy, in a way that is environmentally harmful and abusive of both animals and employees.
Dig a Hole, Create a Refrigerator
tsedevino • 04.13.2016
Solutions to big problems – in this case energy use- can often have simple solutions. In this case a design company called Weltevree has designed a usable refrigerator that can be placed in the ground. We love it when design solves problems. Check this out. Now that the kids are grown, replace the swing set with an in-ground back yard cooler.
Bhutan is Carbon Negative
tsedevino • 04.11.2016
“Bhutan is often overlooked by the international community. The small nation lies deep within the Himalayas between China and India, two of the most populated countries in the world.
But the country of about 750,000 people has set some impressive environmental benchmarks… Bhutan is not merely carbon neutral, it’s also a carbon sink—making it one of the few countries in the world to have negative carbon emissions.”
Trash Is For Tossers
tsedevino • 04.09.2016
“Lauren Singer runs Trash Is for Tossers, a no-waste lifestyle blog that is brimming with smart, simple and sleek-looking tips, tricks and DIY projects for adopting a more sustainable life.
‘I would like people to take away that we can all, regardless of our background, our beliefs, where we live or our socioeconomic status, take simple steps to reduce our environmental impact. It is simple to say no to a plastic straw or carry a reusable bag,’ Singer told The Huffington Post.”
Climate Shift Coming Within Decades, Not Centuries
tsedevino • 04.07.2016
“The nations of the world agreed years ago to try to limit global warming to a level they hoped would prove somewhat tolerable. But leading climate scientists warned on Tuesday that permitting a warming of that magnitude would actually be quite dangerous.
The likely consequences would include killer storms stronger than any in modern times, the disintegration of large parts of the polar ice sheets and a rise of the sea sufficient to begin drowning the world’s coastal cities before the end of this century, the scientists declared.”
Pigeons Help with Air Pollution
tsedevino • 04.05.2016
“Backpack-wearing pigeons playing a big part in tackling London air pollution problem. A team of 10 birds, otherwise known as Pigeon Air Patrol, carries pollution sensors and GPS devices to help study areas of the city with high levels of nitrogen dioxide. Those who want to check out the pollution levels in their area can even tweet @PigeonAir to receive a report.”
The Authors
David Houle
David Houle is a futurist, strategist and speaker. Houle spent more than 20 years in media and entertainment. He worked at NBC, CBS, and was part of the senior executive team that created and launched MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1 and CNN Headline News.
Houle has won a number of awards. He won two Emmys, the prestigious George Foster Peabody award, and the Heartland award for “Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream”. He was also nominated for an Academy Award. He is the Futurist in Residence at the Ringling College of Art+ Design.
He has delivered some 700 speeches on six continents and thirteen countries. He is often called “the CEOs’ Futurist” having spoken to or advised 3,500+ CEOs and business owners in the past eight years.
Houle coined the phrase the Shift Age and has written extensively about the future and the future of energy. This is his seventh book.
His primary web site is www.davidhoule.com
Tim Rumage
Tim Rumage is a planetary ethicist and naturalist. Taking an interdisciplinary and systems thinking approach to education, he has been teaching at the intersection of Science, Ecology, Art, Design and Architecture for more than 30 years.
Tim is the Coordinator/Developer of Environmental Studies at Ringling College of Art and Design where he teaches courses on environmental science, sustainability, creating ecological cities, applied environmental design, food, water, biodiversity and environmental ethics. He is also a Coordinator for Sustainability in Design Education for CUMULUS and a frequent lecturer at other colleges and for community organizations.
As a trained field biologist, Tim has done research on Marine Mammals, Pelagic Birds, Bats, Habitat Restoration and Land Planning. He has been involved in a variety of interdisciplinary projects in the US and Africa involving habitat restoration and protection, green infrastructure, local food production and sustainability. Tim’s current work focuses on the economic value of nature and nature’s services.
His primary web site is http://planetaryethicist.com/
