This first news from a deal at Copenhagen tells us that at least there is some political will amongst the key power brokers and deal breakers. The devil will be in the details -- but it offers us a gleam of hope. Human Hives aka Mayors of key cities around the world will no doubt need [...]
This article published early in December 2009, reveals the biases of the voting blocks at Copenhagen, based on their emissions, GDP and % of world population. The spectrum of intelligences hidden inside these numbers does not reveal who the complex thinkers are in each block -- those people who can think at a geo-centric level and [...]
As we are in the stage of chaos in our international community -- what voices of intelligence point to evidence-based information that we can continue to learn from? Bill McKibben uses 4 numbers: 350 degrees target, 100 countries, 4% and 770 degrees actual!! Read below for background behind these feedback loops. http://climateinteractive.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/bill-mckibbens-guardian-uk-article-features-climate-interactive/#more-2214 Bill McKibben’s Guardian [...]
E-mails stolen from climate scientists show they stonewalled skeptics and discussed hiding data — but the messages don't support claims that the science of global warming was faked, according to an exhaustive review by The Associated Press. http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2951
As we are striving to create new frameworks, approaches and paradigms, it is often easy to overlook how far we have come and what progress we are making. For someone, like Hazel Henderson, who has demonstrated decades of commitment to changing our perspectives on economic performance the following is good news indeed. MH/Integral City For Immediate Release: NEW [...]
Canadian Sustainability Indicators Network (of www.iisd.ca) has just reported this oped on the use of GRI reporting from the mining industry. However it would seem likely the lessons could apply to any sector. I wonder how it opens up the natural evolution from the triple bottom line to the quadruple (integral) bottom line?? ===== Mehrdad [...]
Globe Award 2010 – Leading Sustainability Awards Sustainable cities can be nominated for international award STOCKHOLM, NOVEMBER 23, 2009: Globe Awards will be presented for the fourth consecutive time at the annual gala at Nordiska Museet in Stockholm April 29th, 2010. The applications will be viewed in four categories: research, innovation, city and reporting. The [...]
I just followed a link to a beautiful musical creation. This is a very purple song to the core -- or maybe this way, produced by a mobile recording studio that spanned the globe -- maybe it's Turquoise??? The producer has recorded very talented buskers and a host of back-up musicians from around the world, [...]
Mayors need a framework appropriately complex to respond to the emergence of zoonotic diseases (ie. diseases that cross over from animal populations into human populations) (Sapient Circle, 2004). These threats make demands on emergency response systems that are not merely complicated, but are complex. This means that the interconnections of animal and human health systems, through diseases such as SARS, West Nile Disease, BSE, E-Coli and Avian Influenza, create exponential levels of complexity. It appears that zoonotic bio-emergencies are more dynamic and subject to sudden jumps in severity, than non-bio-emergencies, because the underlying viral/biological elements are capable of learning or adapting to their human environments/life conditions. Thus they require complex non-linear approaches to develop successful response strategies.
I've been watching the series on New York produced by Ric Burns (released through PBS but available as a DVD). It is an impressive revelation of the city's 400 years of history. Last week I watched the episode exploring the massive infrastructure creations of Robert Moses including his hundred of miles of turnpikes that decimated [...]