Crew Commentary Author
Free Gardens in L.A.
tsedevino • 04.03.2016
“Ron Finley, a resident of South Los Angeles, received an arrest warrant for planting vegetables in front of his house. The city required he manage the property and this is how he chose to take care of it. His gardening group, Green Grounds, took a stand and created a petition and enough community support that
The Los Angeles Times highlighted his story, which went viral. Because of the global attention, the local city council revoked the warrant and changed city policy. Under the new law anyone can create a free gardens next to sidewalks.”
Leonardo DiCaprio and Animal Agriculture
tsedevino • 04.01.2016
“Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio has advocated for a number of worthy causes, from fighting climate change to the importance of conservation. Now, with a single tweet, the planetary steward shines a light on the colossal environmental impact of animal agriculture.
In his tweet, DiCaprio included a link to a stunning video from Mercy For Animals, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing cruelty to farmed animals, and promoting compassionate food choices and policies.”
This Solar Powered Airport has Eliminated Electricity Bills
tsedevino • 03.29.2016
“Cochin International Airport, the world’s first 100 percent solar airport, is generating so much power from its massive solar array that the airport no longer pays for electricity.
Cochin started its solar journey three years ago when it installed solar panels on the roof of its arrivals terminal. It eventually blossomed into a 12 megawatt solar project after the airport commissioned German multinational engineering and electronics company Bosch to build the impressive $9.5 million plant that features 46,000 panels laid out across 45 acres of unused land near the airport’s international cargo terminal.”
Lead Taints Schools Throughout the Country
tsedevino • 03.27.2016
“…the federal government requires only about 10% of the nation’s schools and a tiny fraction of day cares — the 8,225 facilities that run their own water systems — to test for lead at all.
The EPA estimates that about 90,000 public schools and half a million child-care facilities are not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act because they depend on water sources such as municipal utilities expected to test their own water. That means parents have no assurance lead isn’t seeping into children’s water from a school building’s pipes, solder or fixtures.”
New Solar Technology Possibilities are Endless
tsedevino • 03.25.2016
Its lightweight! Its flexible! It can be applied to any surface! The possibilities are endless.
Tesla “Not A Dream”
tsedevino • 03.23.2016
A surreal land of oil & gas is visited by an unlikely yet welcomed stranger.
Bacterium That Eats Our Plastic Waste
tsedevino • 03.21.2016
“Hundreds of millions of tons of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic are produced each year to package everything from sodas to shampoo. That only a fraction of this is recycled leaves much of it to rest in landfills and the ocean. But efforts to deal with this monumental mess may soon receive a much-needed boost, with scientists in Japan discovering a new bacterium with the ability to completely break down PET plastics in a relatively short space of time.”
21 Kids Take On Big Oil
tsedevino • 03.17.2016
“Hundreds of students, activists, professors and citizens concerned about climate turned out in Eugene, Oregon to support 21 young plaintiffs, ages 8-19, in what Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein call the ‘most important lawsuit on the planet right now.'”
Record annual increase of carbon dioxide
tsedevino • 03.15.2016
“The annual growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii jumped by 3.05 parts per million during 2015, the largest year-to-year increase in 56 years of research.
In another first, 2015 was the fourth consecutive year that CO2 grew more than 2 ppm, said Pieter Tans, lead scientist of NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network.
‘Carbon dioxide levels are increasing faster than they have in hundreds of thousands of years,’ Tans said. ‘It’s explosive compared to natural processes.'”
Off-Grid Solar Report
tsedevino • 03.13.2016
“It’s been a big week for reports that will be useful to those working to enable a broad range of off-grid energy solutions for the 1.2 billion people currently lacking access to modern energy.
First, today marks the release of the much-anticipated Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report 2016, published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and the World Bank Group’s Lighting Global program, in cooperation with the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA). The report addresses trends in markets for off-grid solar products and services, noting that annual investments into the sector have risen 15-fold from 2012 to $276 million in 2015 alone. To put this rapid investment spike in context: the total investment in the sector to date is $511 million.”
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/
