From December 12 to the 24th I am headed to the heart of the Amazon to gather water quality data with some Brazilian Scientists and Students. Dr. Ademar Romeiro from the Univesity of Campinas leads the boat expedition to the Purus River. The purpose of the trip is to gather data in water stations for running on-site simulation models to predict water quality and understand land use change. Here below are some photos and a video of a prior expedition. Stay Tuned.
Following a request from several students today during GIEE's Tea Time here is the audio bit from Dr. Richard E. Baer from Cornell University. After several weeks of teaching his course a student slams her fist on the table and says to him "DAMMIT You use your mind like a weapon". Listen in for the rest of the story.
Listen to the 1994-02-01 lecture around minute 22. These are part of his rather famous course on Religion, Ethics and the Environment...
I agree with Dr. Baer that the university environment (may I suggest the environmental community) is overly aggressive on its stance towards knowledge, its colleagues and its students. Rudeness should be outdated. Respecting other people's views, trying to understand before being understood, active listening and patience towards the progress of things is the new cool. My 2 cents.
It does amaze me that with very simple tools one can now post videos in a matter of minutes. The implications of these tools are vast. I am not talking just about the dreaded "macaca" effect but more noble techniques to allow unrestricted access to information. What a contradiction; in "Collapse" Diamond lines up the characteristics that predict the demise of civilization - in the current Bush Americana we match the worse of all forecasts yet we do have this incredible power of reaching large segments of the world and promote positive change.
This freedom on information flow might be the silver lining of our sad state of affairs. Peter Barnes says that we need to be prepared to strike when the opportunity arises, these new technology web 2.0 tools is part of how we strike - when in doubt think "Macaca".
If you do have the patience to read an interesting yet dense article head to "The Nation" and read about the possible emergence of the progressive majority. Who knows, maybe change is around the corner (then we'll have to keep an eye on the democrats). Sharpen the saw is what I say.
Anyway, here goes the test of an interview we recently shot with our friends Trista Patterson and Ken Lindeman. Once we have all the knicks figured out we'll have a nice gallery like the one Arianna Huffinton has on her HUFFTV website
I just watched a PBS Special on EO Wilson. He covered the basics of what we had noted in a previous post: religion might be to tool to save the environment. As I have said many times before "A sin against nature is a sin against God". Anyway, the most suprising part of today's Bill Moyers was not Wilson but the story of Diamond Teague who rose from the ashes of poverty to become a steward of nature. An amazing story.
Here goes the description taken from PBS (notice the link to the videos!):
As this week's story on the Earth Conservation Corps and Bill Moyers' interview with E.O. Wilson both demonstrate, local efforts can make a difference in helping to maintain a healthy and sustainable environment.
Links:
E.O. Wilson and Bill Moyers talks about the future of our planet with noted entomologist and father of sociobiology, E.O. Wilson.
Earth Conservation Corps: The Earth Conservation Corps (ECC), a group of young adults from urban DC, works to reclaim a dying neighborhood by providing leadership tools to disadvantaged youth while cleaning up the environment.
This coming Sunday My friend Gwen Hallsmith has invited us for dinner at her place with Hunter Lovins. I saw this black hat cowgirl a while back here in Burlington. I recall her passion and vision made a great impression as the crowd laughed, cheered and went home inspired. I have to admit that I have never read anything of Ms. Lovins and am now scrambling to read on the web about her life and vision. So here are some interesting videos and links that I felt worth posting. Here goes:
Video 1: Hunter talks to Source code: Natural Capitalism - nice question towards the end that deals with happiness.
Video 2: Interview with Patagonia - presents simple solution to carbon footprint
Video 3: Teaching Sustainable Business
Interview with Grist Magazine: she tears her ex-husband appart and describes how RMI treated her like shit. Check it out:
Q: What has been the worst moment in your professional life to date?
She says: When the chair of the board of RMI walked into my office with no warning and told me that I was terminated, effective immediately, leave the building and speak to no one, and I realized that Amory had gone into hiding and hadn't the guts to tell me that 30 years of a partnership had died.
Another was learning, after I went into the home that I built with my own hands, and still owned, to get some photos that had belonged to my mother, before leaving Old Snowmass for Boulder, that RMI had called the sheriff on me, trying to get me arrested for theft. Given that I had for the past 15 years been a member of the local fire department and had spent a whole lot of winter nights working wrecks in the canyon with the sheriff's boys, they just grinned and wished me a great drive to my new home. I crossed the continental divide laughing the whole way. And I guess RMI is still mad about it. But it's really not that funny ...
Holly fuck there goes chivarly - what a bad breakup. Go figure, the environmental movement is sometimes its worst enemy.
