we are going to a presentation by sci-fi author Bruce Sterling tonight on their new book
http://www.worldchanging.com/planet/
Climate Change / Sustainable Development / Biodiversity and Ecosystems
New Science / Imagining the Future
From The Book
Planet: Introduction
Today, we are a planet on the move. According to the Population Resource Center, hundreds of millions of us have left the countries where we were born to start new lives abroad. Hundreds of millions more travel long distances for recreation and business. Jet contrails crisscross the skies, signals flash through fiber-optic cables, and the planet seems to shrink every day.
With all this travel, we've lost our connection to the land around us. Few of us could match the local ecological knowledge of our most ignorant ancestors. On the other hand, we've gained a greater understanding of the wider workings of nature.
image from NASA
A Brief Visual Reminder that We Are, Actually, on a Small Planet
The shuttle launch, seen from the International Space Station. (From our pal Warren Ellis.)
Ecosystem Goods and Services: Series Introduction
(A collaborative series by David Zaks, Chad Monfreda, and Hassan Masum.) Today, we measure our economic assets in great detail...but we don't systematically measure the ecosystem services upon which our economy (and ultimately all human activity) depends. This post...
The Sea Around Us
by Rachel Carson (Oxford University Press, 2003) An instant classic upon its original publication in 1951, The Sea Around Us is the timeless story of the oceans, told through memorable images and recounted in loving prose. However, it is also...
An Inconvenient Truth
by Al Gore (Rodale Books, 2006) If you want a crash course in what climate change is, how we know itï¿œs here, and what we can expect if we donï¿œt do something about it, there is no better resource...
The Soul of Soil: A Soil-Building Guide for Master Gardeners and Farmers
by Grace Gershuny and Joe Smillie (Chelsea Green Publishing, 1999) To understand soil as the foundation on which all agricultural activities are built is the first step in ï¿œhonoring our oneness with all living creatures and helping the long process...
The Future of Life
by Edward O. Wilson (Alfred A Knopf, 2002) Biologist Edward O. Wilson is one of the worldï¿œs most respected scientists. Heï¿œs also one of the ones ringing the loudest alarm bells. The Future of Life, his call to arms, is...
Thriving on Earth Forever
I've now gotten about twenty emails pointing out the accompanying graphic from the Times of London and this New Scientist story on how long it would take for humanity's impacts to vanish from the Earth: If tomorrow dawns without...
A Flurry of Climate Reports
The business of climate change is heating up, as evidenced by a recent spate of reports, studies, and documents on the topic. I've witnessed the birthing of five such works in just the past ten days, all of which deserve...
Trees: The Anti-Desert
In this year of deserts and desertification, there is finally "good news from Africa," New Scientist reports. "Farmers are reclaiming the desert, turning the barren wastelands of the Sahel region on the Sahara's southern edge into green, productive farmland." And...
Understanding the U.S. Demographic Future
Although it is an arbitrary benchmark, the United States is nearing a population of 300 million, and is expected to surpass this number sometime this month. You can watch the U.S. Census' very own population clock here. In just one...