Sustainability

Your source for current articles on Sustainability

October 2024

A Bold Plan to Rewild the Earth — at Massive Scale | Kristine McDivitt Tompkins | TED

March 2024

SHARK COUNTRY – TEDDY TUCKER

Teddy Tucker, best known as a salvage diver and shipwreck hunter was first and foremost a fisherman. On a fishing trip in 1994 he was asked for his thoughts on changes he had witnessed over his time fishing off Bermuda. One of the starkest examples of change on the reef is the disappearance of the once ubiquitous sharks. Other fishermen and hunters share their observations of further change they have experienced over the past 30 years. Together with Teddy they stand as witnesses to the decline in Bermuda’s marine environment gleaned over years of consistent free diving and scuba diving on the island’s reef.

April 2023

Are we the last generation – or the first sustainable one?

The word “sustainability” gets thrown around a lot these days. But what does it actually mean for humanity to be sustainable? Environmental data scientist Hannah Ritchie digs into the numbers behind human progress across centuries, unpacking why the conventional understanding of sustainability is misleading and showing how we can be the first generation of humans to actually achieve it.

Earth Charter

Preamble

We stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.

Earth, Our Home

Humanity is part of a vast evolving universe. Earth, our home, is alive with a unique community of life. The forces of nature make existence a demanding and uncertain adventure, but Earth has provided the conditions essential to life’s evolution. The resilience of the community of life and the well-being of humanity depend upon preserving a healthy biosphere with all its ecological systems, a rich variety of plants and animals, fertile soils, pure waters, and clean air. The global environment with its finite resources is a common concern of all peoples. The protection of Earth’s vitality, diversity, and beauty is a sacred trust.

The Global Situation

The dominant patterns of production and consumption are causing environmental devastation, the depletion of resources, and a massive extinction of species. Communities are being undermined. The benefits of development are not shared equitably and the gap between rich and poor is widening. Injustice, poverty, ignorance, and violent conflict are widespread and the cause of great suffering. An unprecedented rise in human population has overburdened ecological and social systems. The foundations of global security are threatened. These trends are perilous—but not inevitable.

‘Survivor’ urges island to take lead on climate change

“Bermuda has a really big opportunity and a responsibility to actually lead as an island nation on the whole issue of climate change, sea-level rise; sustainability. After hearing my story, you know it’s a reality. Climate change is happening. Every [weather] record is being broken. We can’t just sit back. What we have to understand is that this will affect us.

“This beautiful island could show leadership on this issue and I’d like to see that.”

Renowned green-minded architect sparks ideas

One of the world’s pioneering figures in promoting the circular economy and sustainable development has visited Bermuda.

William McDonough’s trip was connected with the island’s hosting of a Hub Culture Innovation Campus and Beach Club at Ariel Sands.

The South Shore campus is attracting innovators and influencers through the summer, and has a number of themed weeks, with sustainability being one of the topics.

Mr McDonough is a world-known proponent of sustainability and the circular economy, and he has shared thoughts on directions Bermuda might consider exploring.

Bermuda to host Ocean Risk Summit

A first-of-its-kind conference to be held in Bermuda bringing together representatives of governments, the finance sector and the insurance industry.

Specific risks posed by changes to the world’s oceans caused by climate change and other man-made impacts will be considered at the three-day event next May.

The Ocean Risk Summit will focus on how governments and the business sector should respond to the risks of existing and projected changes in the ocean which until recently have been poorly understood.

The summit is being sponsored by XL Catlin along with other scientific and Bermudian-based partners.

Dave Meslin The antidote to apathy TED Talk

Democracy is more, much more, than having the right to vote. This talk shows how the public are dis-incentivised intentionally by those who want to keep decision making to themselves. Some useful lessons here:

Buckminster Fuller

What Is Sustainability and Why Is It Important?

Sustainability is a broad discipline, giving students and graduates insights into most aspects of the human world from business to technology to environment and the social sciences. The core skills with which a graduates leaves college or university are highly sought after, especially in a modern world looking to drastically reduce carbon emissions and discover and develop the technologies of the future. Sustainability draws on politics, economics and, philosophy and other social sciences as well as the hard sciences. Sustainability skills and environmental awareness is a priority in many corporate jobs at graduate level and over as businesses seek to adhere to new legislation. Therefore, Sustainability graduates will go into many fields but most commonly civic planning, environmental consultancy (built and natural environment), agriculture, not for profit, corporate strategies, health assessment and planning, and even into law and decision making. Entry-level jobs are growing and over the coming years, bachelors graduates can expect more and more options and opportunities.

Ocean Tech is now a Bermuda registered charity No. 980.

Ocean Tech is a Bermuda Registered Charity No. 980. The charity operates unique marine research missions that provide scientific data to help develop areas of marine protection. The first mission is taking place in Bermuda during 2018 and 2019.

Ocean Tech is bringing together the world’s top marine scientists with the world’s most advanced underwater autonomous vehicle – REMUS.
REMUS is the world’s only un-manned underwater vehicle that can autonomously follow and film endangered marine species such as whales, sharks and eagle rays for hours at a time. The vehicle’s job is to record how a species uses its underwater habitat so Ocean Tech can identify the areas that need protection.

The 360-degree virtual reality video and environmental data collected by REMUS is synchronised and analysed by our Ocean Tech scientists, who will then produce scientific papers that focus on revealing critical habitat and ecosystem function. The scientific papers will then be delivered to local policy makers, including the Bermuda Government to assist them with the sustainable management of Bermuda’s precious marine resource.

The first mission in Bermuda will deliver new environmental STEM curriculum for local schools, 360-degree virtual reality video content for a global network of Ocean Tech exhibits, a local public lecture series, a school talk programme and a comprehensive media campaign including a global feature film. The funds raised from the sale of the feature film will be awarded to five local education and marine conservation initiatives.

Ocean Tech helps governments around the world establish data led marine protection to help people and businesses sustainably use the marine resource.

Local action needed to resolve world’s biggest problems

From the David Suzuki Foundation, an interesting read on how ‘inclusive solutions from active citizens working to better their communities.” can change our world we live in. Read more here: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2017/07/local-action-needed-to-resolve-worlds-biggest-problems

From the ME-generation to the RE-generation

(The ReGeneration, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: The “ReGeneration” refers to people of all ages who share a common interest in renewable resources, recycling and other means of sustaining the earth’s natural environment. In contrast to previous age-specific generations, like the ‘Me Generation, Generation X or Generation Y, this new generation comprises globally connected and like-minded individuals using technology to harness their collective beliefs – regardless of age or geographic location.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_ReGeneration)

Building a new more sustainable future is surely best done by creating inspiring alternatives rather than criticising the old. DANIEL CHRISTIAN WAHL celebrates the work of Gaia Education — an educational NGO that is at the forefront of locally focused sustainability education on six continents (an earlier version of this article was first published by The Ecologist)

“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting — over and over announcing your place in the family of things.” The poet Mary Oliver reminds us the choice to come home into the community of life is ours, every day anew.

Those of us alive today are the cast for an epic of civilizational transformation. Something the environmental activist and author, Joanna Macy, describes as “The Great Turning.”

A decade of Sustainable SYSTEMS | The Schumacher Institute holds a celebratory conference in Bristol

The Schumacher Institute for Sustainable Systems held its tenth anniversary celebratory conference in Bristol on 24 May 2018.

Titled ‘From Systemic Collapse to Civilizational Transformation’, the event comprised a keynote and three other talks, two thematic discussion sessions in groups and an overview on the Institute’s work and achievements, along with the launch of its SYSTEM CHANGE journal and its reader-attraction mechanism, Café SYSTEM CHANGE magazine.

What does Sustainability mean to you?

Our BEST summer students, Hayat and Nikki, produced a video for us to increase awareness of sustainability, an especially important topic for our tiny island.

What is the Circular Economy?

The circular economy supports sustainability by enabling economic growth without greater resource use.

Trusting Rain

By Kristen Alexander

Collecting rain-water is a way of life in Bermuda, with each household responsible for their water supply. Few travellers to the spectacular island are aware of this centuries old method of water conservation. There are no natural rivers, streams or fresh water ponds in Bermuda. For the inhabitants, capturing rainwater is second nature, born of necessity and ingenuity. But things are changing on the island, droughts, more people and international workers, as well as a loss of the cultural history of water collection are all contributing to an unsustainable path.

Set against the natural beauty of the island, the film reveals the complex relationship between densely populated areas like Bermuda and natural resources. Centuries of self-sufficiency unfold through personal stories from Bermudians. The film Trusting Rain portrays Bermuda’s own water conservation as a limited resource, a skill that could be cultivated by communities around the globe.

BEST - Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce