Summary

How fast can we stop Earth from warming?

The planet's temperature has been rising over the last centuries due to a increasing human population. While in recent decades, the international community has been attempting to combat many of these negative effects on the climate, we may not see an actual change in the Earth's atmosphere for several years. This is because of stored heat in the Earth radiating back into the atmosphere. So, while we may not see drastic changes in the climate in the near future, by continuing to enact positive change, we can create a better world for generations to come.

Key Takeaways:

Ending fossil fuel use is a great way for humanity as a whole to reduce warming.
As people, we can do things like less driving to reduce the carbon footprint.
Using more EV or electrical systems rather that fuel driven systems is big step.

“Because the ocean is dynamic, it has currents, and it will not simply diffuse its excess heat back into the atmosphere.”

Can oysters save New York City from the next big storm?

Living Breakwaters is a $107 million project to strengthen the coastline of Staten Island. The project involves constructing breakwaters covered in recycled oyster shells, which are being donated by dozens of local restaurants. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy devastated parts of Staten Island and killed 24 people there. The Living Breakwaters project is considered green infrastructure, an alternative to the usual dikes and dams. The idea of oyster reefs was borrowed from Louisiana. The Billion Oyster Project, directed by Danielle Bissett, is attempting to revive New York's oyster population by incubating oyster larvae on the used shells.

Key Takeaways:

Dozens of restaurants are donating oyster shells to the coastline restoration project Living Breakwaters.
Oysters were once a staple of the diet of the Lenape people, and later were prized by European settlers.
Superstorm Sandy exposed the vulnerability of the coastline along Staten Island.

“When attached to rocks and other structures in water, the bivalves can help make them resilient to pounding waves.”

UN calls for extreme weather warning systems for everyone on Earth within 5 years

As the climate crisis intensifies, it has become more important to monitor for extreme weather events. The UN Secretary-General has now called for an early warning system that covers the entire globe. The system is estimated to cost $1.5 billion over the next five years, a tiny amount compared to that spent by G20 countries on recent economic recoveries. The World Meteorological Organization estimates that over two million people have been killed by extreme weather since 1970. Early warning systems have been shown to save lives.

Key Takeaways:

The WMO stated that 1.5 billion would be needed to get around the world early warning system.
Early warning systems have reduced deaths from nature by 76 percent.
The UN states that half of the population is in the danger zone.

“With the climate crisis intensifying, monitoring to provide early warnings for extreme weather has become more important than ever.”

Philosophy for the End of Growth

When it comes to the end of growth, there is a philosophy that you can take into an account where you can be accepting of it. The end of growth happens to all of us and can really hurt our conscience. We also see the end of growth in terms of the economy and finance as well from time to time. One of the best things that we can do is to combat the ruling elite and try to allow for natural growth.

Key Takeaways:

There aren't any limits to humans and we have more resources available to us than any previous generation.
We are currently experiencing an economic struggle due to the sheer amount of money we are throwing at technology.
We aren't the biggest force in the universe and often times it's difficult for us to accept that.

“We are now in a permanent state of overshoot, something only temporarily experienced by our ancestors.”

Why an international treaty for the high seas is crucial to biodiversity

There is currently a major issue going on with the high seas and nations worldwide are trying to enact a treaty that will help save it. The high seas are very deep and usually unexplored but there is tons of marine life living there. The high seas are also under a big threat due to the amount of mining, pollution, over-fishing and climate change taking place. Nations are trying to create a treaty that will allow the IGC to manage shared marine biodiversity in the high seas.

Key Takeaways:

The high seas are typically unexplored and they are very deep and contain different types of marine life.
The high seas are also at a threat because of climate change, pollution, mining and over-fishing.
Nations worldwide are working to create a treaty that will allow for shared marine biodiversity in the high seas.

“Marine Biodiversity of areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) refers to the marine life found in the high seas, and is known to be a murky and complex topic.”

Communities of Color See Spike in Flood-Related Illness After Hurricanes

Sadly, there has been a rise in flood related illnesses in communities of color since the hurricanes have happened. After Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018 there was a major increase in emergency room visits for diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. This affected both the older black and Native American community the most. Pathogens are able to spread very quickly in floodwater which also can contaminate drinking water. These contaminants can then lead to the illnesses that cause symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting.

Key Takeaways:

After two hurricanes, North Carolina saw a large increase in emergency room visits among older Blacks and Native Americans.
In eastern North Carolina, hog feedlot water lagoons are at risk of overflowing during storms.
Many Blacks and Native Americans live in close proximity to sources of bacteria.

“Researchers compared data on emergency room visits across North Carolina with maps of flooding, finding that reports of gastrointestinal complications surged in areas inundated by hurricanes.”

The big idea: how can we adapt to life with rising seas?

We have passed the point of no return when it comes to rising seas, and hundreds of millions of people will be impacted. Forced migration will lead to international conflicts, but can adaptation without migration work? Major coastal engineering works, such as the Thames Barrier and the Rotterdam Barrier, have worked in the past, but increased funding will be needed to keep up. There are further problems with military and industrial bases near the water. They threaten to leak contamination into groundwater. Contaminated soils could be dug up and made inert. Building floating urban districts protected from tides and waves is another possibility. But there are numerous challenges involved.

Key Takeaways:

Coastal engineering works, such as pumps and tide gates, will need to be scaled up.
Industrial and military sites are often contaminated, and rising groundwater could spill toxins.
The Dutch know how to protect floating urban districts from waves and tides.

“The forced migration of hundreds of millions of people will undoubtedly lead to serious international conflict over space and basic resources like fresh water.”

Aquaculture: why the world needs a new wave of food production

Changes in our climate have a great impact on our food supplies. The problem is further amplified by continuous population growth. As a consequence, it is becoming quite clear that growing plants for food needs to be reimagined, as current methods would not be able to meet the demand. Using water and aquaculture methods may provide the solution. These systems are resilient and certainly more ecologically sustainable in the long run. In fact, some of these plants are able to mitigate the negative effects of climate and environment changes.

Key Takeaways:

We need to come up with more solutions to feed the world and protect the economy.
Our Ocean only provides 2% of our food and yet covers 71% of the planet.
Aquaculture would also bring new economic development to costal communities and strengthen our food supply.

“Marine aquaculture, the growing of plants and animals in our oceans, is an important source of nutrition –and, research indicates, an emerging climate change solution.”

Ecological Civilisation: Beyond Consumerism and the Growth Economy (Introduction)

Despite some pushbacks in business and legislative circles, it is becoming clear that ecology and environmental consciousness will be an important part of our civilization in the near future. Food source and supply issues, water scarcity and other factor loom large over the direction our civilization is taking. Obviously, to tackle these issues current methods would not work. We need to reinvent our approach and assess different, often bold ideas that can alleviate some of the problems mankind faces.

Key Takeaways:

Dr Samuel Alexander, co-director of the Simplicity Institute, is the writer and presenter of the series.
The Simplicity Institute has e-books that are available on a ‘pay what you can’ basis.
Andrew Doodson, Jordan Osmond, and Antoinette Wilson contributed production advice and Mortimer’s Method supplied the music.

“This series will be grappling with the problems of consumerism and the growth economy; envisioning alternative, post-carbon ways of life; and considering what action can be taken, both personally and politically, to help build an ecological civilisation.”

Complexity Revisited

As a civilization, we have always been trying to increase complexity. Increasing complexity has its positives and benefits, but as time goes on, increasing complexity will just get more and more expensive and less effective. Increasing complexity will in fact create more professional jobs, but it's up for debate if that is cost effective and good for the overall plan. This will make us more reliant on those professionals rather than us learning the skills to fix the problem ourselves.

Key Takeaways:

Sometimes we should stop trying to increase complexity and try to develop ways to make current tech better.
We should be reorganizing the complexity roles in our society.
Doing this will make us less reliant on a lot of things we need.

“From rural villages to towns and empires, the development of societies always came at a cost of increased complexity.”