Global Warming Time Bomb - James Hansen Testifies

The curious part about these dire warnings for urgent action is how the language used suggests that the disaster will affect all EXCEPT human beings, instead of making the obvious connections and implications: disrupted/collapsing food chains, the normalization of extreme weather and associated agricultural production and industry crises, dislocations, and devastation, etc. 

Today (062308), Hansen, 67, plans to testify at a House committee hearing that it is almost, but not quite, too late to start defusing what he calls the "global warming time bomb." He will offer a prescription for cuts in emissions and also a warning about the risks of further inaction.

"If we don't begin to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next several years, and really on a very different course, then we are in trouble," Hansen said Friday at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, which he has directed since 1981. "Then the ice sheets are in trouble. Many species on the planet are in trouble."

SFGATE: Scientist hasn't cooled crusade against warming, Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times, Monday, June 23, 2008.  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/23/MNI311DGDL.DTL&type=science

Use a google search for other resources for James Hansen.

John Todd, Jaime Snyder and Hunter Lovins interviewed on Democracy Now!

Buckminster Fuller Institute Announcement:  Dr. John Todd was awarded the first annual Buckminster Fuller Challenge prize at a conferring ceremony at the Center for Architecture in New York City on Monday, June 23rd.  Democracy Now!, a fantastic New York-based independent radio/TV news broadcast, caught up with Dr. Todd, Challenge juror Hunter Lovins, and Jaime Snyder to talk about Fuller's legacy, Dr. Todd's visionary work in Appalachia, and the foolish plans for a nuclear power revival in the United States.

http://bfi.org/our_programs/the_buckminster_fuller_challenge/john_todd_jaime_snyder_and_hunter_lovins_interviewed_on_democracy_now

Democracy Now Interview:     25 Years After His Death, Visionary R. Buckminster Fuller Continues to Inspire Efforts for a More Sustainable Planet.  New York’s Whitney Museum is opening an exhibition this week bringing together the work of architect and visionary, R. Buckminster Fuller. More than two decades after his death, Fuller continues to inspire efforts for a more sustainable planet in the twenty-first century. From his famous geodesic dome to his shunned electric car, Fuller employed design to tackle problems including homelessness and environmental degradation.

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/24/two_decades_after_his_death_visionary

Winner -- Buckminster Fuller Challenge 2008 -- Comprehensive Design for a Carbon Neutral World: The Challenge of Appalachia

John Todd scales up ecological design for the 21st century by applying it to a comprehensive strategy for the betterment of Appalachia, a culturally rich region, but long lagging in terms of economic development.  This proposal is worth some study by students of ecological design and comprehensive anticipatory design science. Read the press release from the BFI then follow the link the the BFI website for more details and related resouces.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, visit: http://challenge.bfi.org
Contact: Matt Barron, Tel: 718.290.9283, Email: challenge@bfi.org
THE FIRST ANNUAL BUCKMINSTER FULLER CHALLENGE WINNER ANNOUNCED

MAY 2nd, 2008 NEW YORK CITY — The Buckminster Fuller Institute is pleased to announce that Comprehensive Design for a Carbon Neutral World: The Challenge of Appalachia submitted by Dr. John Todd has been selected as the winner of the 2008 Buckminster Fuller Challenge.

“Dr. John Todd’s comprehensive design strategy to bring about a carbon neutral world, in the opinion of this jury, best embodies the bold, visionary approach to large scale societal transformation pioneered by Buckminster Fuller. Dr. Todd’s proposal sets forth a profound vision to heal the environmental and economic scars of the Appalachian region and a detailed strategy to build a dynamic sustainable economic basis for lasting renewal,” said the Buckminster Fuller Challenge jurors in a statement about their decision.

“Dr. Todd’s vision sets forth a new theory of ecological design weaving together a set of processes - from restoration of land to geo-sequestration of carbon, to community involvement, to long-term economic vitality - to create a blueprint for a future for Appalachia that envisions a harmonious self-sustaining community. This is one of the only true whole systems projects that is place based but widely applicable.” To read the full statement by the jury, visit: http://challenge.bfi.org
Allegra Fuller Snyder, Fuller’s daughter, remarked, “My father identified himself as a Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Scientist. Each word is essential to understanding in what way he felt an individual must be competent to be effective in fully implementing constructive visions for our collective planetary future. John Todd’s response meets that Challenge, literally and figuratively. My father, who knew, and admired, Dr. Todd’s work in the 1970s, would certainly agree.”

“The selection by the jury of Dr. Todd’s project sets the bar for the Challenge for years to come. We are thrilled the jury selected a courageous and truly integrated vision that sets forth a detailed strategy to bring about a vibrant and life-sustaining future. The depth and breadth of this vision is stunning and I hope it becomes a catalyst for reflection and lively discussion across disciplines about contemporary approaches to solving the major issues facing us today,” said Elizabeth Thompson, Executive Director of the Buckminster Fuller Institute.

In addition to selecting the winner, the jury also identified two runners-up for their innovative work. The Barefoot College submitted by Bunker Roy was selected as the first runner-up and Promoting Biogas and Training Bedouin Women submitted by Kevin Leopold was selected as the second runner-up.

The winner will receive a $100,000 prize at a press conference and conferring ceremony June 23rd, 2008 at 2pm at The Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place in New York City.

For more information, visit http://challenge.bfi.org

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NEW AMSTERDAM PUBLIC LAUNCHES NYC WINTER MARKET 12-16-07

Recently launched New Amsterdam Public is a non-profit organization whose mission is to establish a year-round, indoor public market where butchers, grocers, fish and cheese mongers, and other purveyors will help create and foster a sustainable food system in the City of New York. This new, civic institution will emerge over time in Lower Manhattan's Seaport neighborhood, which has been a public market district since New York has been a city 1642.  See the Press Release:  http://www.newamsterdampublic.org/wm_pressrelease.htm and the Web Site:  http://www.newamsterdampublic.org/index.htm.

At the Seaport, on the East River, stand two historic structures: the Tin Building and the New Market Building. Both market halls are owned by the public, and both have been empty since 2005, when the Fulton Fish Market was moved to the Bronx after two centuries of vibrant trade in this location.  The vision of New Amsterdam Public is the creation of a new public sustainability forum, bridging the past and illuminating the future with the restoration of both market halls  from public and philanthropic funds and dedicated as a new market for sustainably produced food, sold by purveyors and sourced regionally. This new civic institution will be a permanent venue to promote sustainable agriculture, strengthen our regional food system, drive rural and urban economic development, incubate small businesses, and teach all New Yorkers how to buy, eat and cook tastey good food.

EARTH POLICY NEWS -- EPI President Lester Brown Testifies Before Congress on 6-13-07

EARTH POLICY INSTITUTE NEWS FLASH - - -

Earth Policy News – Lester Brown on Capitol Hill on biofuels, 6/13/07  (S2030 CROSS POST).  Lester Brown, Earth Policy Institute president and author of Plan B 2.0 will brief the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works tomorrow, Wednesday, June 13, at 10 am.  The briefing will focus on biofuels. Other presenters include:  Vinod Khosla, VeraSun Energy Corporation Bob Dineen, Renewable Fuels Association Jason Hill, University of Minnesota Dan Lashoff, Natural Resources Defense Council.  The meeting, open to the public, will be held in Room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.  Lester Brown will be available for comment before and after the briefing. You may also call Earth Policy Institute at 202-496-9290 or see www.earthpolicy.org for more information.  The paper Lester Brown is submitting to the Committee can be viewed on-line at http://www.earthpolicy.org/Transcripts/SenateEPW07.hML

PREVIEW:  The escalating share of the U.S. grain harvest going to ethanol distilleries is driving up food prices worldwide. Investment in fuel ethanol distilleries has soared since gasoline prices jumped at the end of 2005. Once completed, distilleries now under construction could double U.S. ethanol output, turning nearly 30 percent of next year’s U.S. grain harvest into fuel for automobiles. This unprecedented diversion of the world’s leading grain crop to the production of fuel will affect food prices everywhere, risking political instability. To read more see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Transcripts/SenateEPW07.htm.

MEDIA CONTACT:   Reah Janise Kauffman, Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 12, E-mail: rjk (at) earthpolicy.org.  RESEARCH CONTACT:  Janet Larsen, Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 14, E-mail: jlarsen (at) earthpolicy.org, Earth Policy Institute, 1350 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 403, Washington, DC 20036 Web: Web: www.earthpolicy.org