Following what goes on with oil and gas exploitation in and around Adrian, Michigan since 2013 - and how these events in our little city connect to the global environmental situation... - with the occasional sidetrack to other related environmental issues in Lenawee county, Michigan and how those relate to global issues.
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Air pollution from animal-based food production is linked to 12,700 deaths each year, study says
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Tomorrow's Film at the Environmental Documentary Series: Kiss the Ground
Tomorrow, 5-May, The 11th Environmental
Documentary Series will show the documentary Kiss the Ground: https://kissthegroundmovie.com/ with
a running time of about 80 minutes.
About the film: Narrated and featuring Woody Harrelson, Kiss the Ground is an inspiring and groundbreaking film that reveals the first viable solution to our climate crisis. Kiss the Ground reveals that, by regenerating the world’s soils, we can completely and rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Using compelling graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, the film artfully illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon, soil is the missing piece of the climate puzzle. This movie is positioned to catalyze a movement to accomplish the impossible – to solve humanity’s greatest challenge, to balance the climate and secure our species future.
We will connect at 6:30 PM via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83391076365?pwd=djZQa3hvQklncDlTdTdjbnBPdDcxdz09) and everybody will start the films soon after. After the films we will hold a discussion on Zoom.
Friday, April 30, 2021
Speed at which world’s glaciers are melting has doubled in 20 years | Glaciers | The Guardian
Glacier melt contributing more to sea-level rise than loss of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, say experts
The melting of the world’s glaciers has nearly doubled in speed over the past 20 years and contributes more to sea-level rise than either the Greenland or Antarctic ice sheets, according to the most comprehensive global study of ice rivers ever undertaken.
Scientists say human-driven global heating is behind the accelerating loss of high-altitude and high-latitude glaciers, which will affect coastal regions across the planet and create boom-and-bust flows of meltwater for the hundreds of millions of people who live downstream of these “natural water towers”.
Between 2000 and 2019, glaciers lost 267 gigatonnes (Gt) of ice per year, equivalent to 21% of sea-level rise, reveals a paper published in Nature. The authors said the mass loss was equivalent to submerging the surface of England under 2 metres of water every year.
This was 47% higher than the contribution of the melting ice sheet in Greenland and more than twice that from the ice sheet in Antarctica. As a cause of sea-level rise, glacier loss was second only to thermal expansion, which is prompted by higher ocean temperatures.
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Tomorrow: Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University to speak on Sustainable Development at Siena Heights University
This is a
brief reminder that the Sustainable College Committee of Siena Heights University
is delighted to present Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable
Development at Columbia University as our Winter 2021 William Issa Endowment
Speaker on the Environment. Dr. Sachs’ talk is scheduled for April
28, 7:00 PM Eastern Daylight-Saving Time as a ZOOM meeting and is titled "Universities
and the Sustainable Development Goals: Lessons from the Pandemic”.
Dr. Sachs’ talk is free for the public. Please click the following link
to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81278864571
The above
poster can be downloaded in full resolution using the below link:
http://wassmer.org/SHU/Sachs_Design2_opt.pdf
Please feel
free to forward this announcement to anybody who might be interested. Thank you
in advance – and I hope to meet you virtually at Siena Heights University!
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Tomorrow's Films - Environmental Documentary Series - Free Exclusive Screening & Filmmaker from India will attend
Tomorrow, 21-Apr, The 11th Environmental
Documentary Series will show the free documentary Ever Slow Green: https://www.brainfever.in/ever-slow-green/
whose filmmaker will join us life from India for Q&A and 3 short
Youtube videos on The Green New Deal: https://berniesanders.com/issues/green-new-deal/
accessible through a playlist together all 4 videos last about 80 minutes.
About the films:
- EVER SLOW GREEN: 50
years ago, a unique afforestation project took root on an eroded desert
plateau in Tamil Nadu, South India, when people from diverse countries
came together to establish the international experimental township of
Auroville. Initially driven by the necessity to make the harsh conditions
more liveable, the idealism of some early residents lead them to develop
expertise in cultivating the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest, a rare forest
type native to the coastal belt of Tamil Nadu. Today, the lush Auroville
forest is an outstanding example of eco-restoration that recreates and
preserves a type of tropical forest that is on the verge of extinction.
The filmmaker granted us exclusive free access through https://vimeo.com/407553297 ,
password will be provided via Zoom before the session
- The Green New Deal:
Transform our energy system to 100 percent renewable energy and create 20
million jobs needed to solve the climate crisis. Ensure a just transition
for communities and workers, including fossil fuel workers. Ensure justice
for frontline communities, especially under-resourced groups, communities
of color, Native Americans, people with disabilities, children and the
elderly. Save American families money with investments in weatherization,
public transportation, modern infrastructure and high-speed broadband.
Commit to reducing emissions throughout the world, including providing
$200 billion to the Green Climate Fund, rejoining the Paris Agreement, and
reasserting the United States’ leadership in the global fight against
climate change. Invest in conservation and public lands to heal our soils,
forests, and prairie lands. End the greed of the fossil fuel industry and
hold them accountable. Playlist on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcSYAU1r19GS-2lK7di-NWlYjtDiNcL-r
We will connect at 6:30 PM via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83391076365?pwd=djZQa3hvQklncDlTdTdjbnBPdDcxdz09) and everybody will start the films soon after. After the films we will hold a discussion with the filmmaker on Zoom.
Full Program: Environmental Documentaries - SHU Sustainability
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Tomorrow, 14-Apr, The 11th Environmental Documentary Series will show two free short documentaries and the filmmakers and/or directors will join us for Q&A:
Tomorrow, 14-Apr, The 11th Environmental Documentary Series will show two free short documentaries and the filmmakers and/or directors will join us for Q&A: Peace with Nature and Solar For All, together 75 minutes.
About the films:
- Peace with Nature: Oak Alley’s documentary tells of the story of the restoration of Costa’s Rica’s rainforests from a low of 21% forest cover in the 1980s back to 52% cover in 2010. Costa Rica is also implementing policies to protect its biodiversity and become a carbon neutral economy.
Peace with Nature in Costa Rica from Oak Alley Productions on Vimeo.
- Solar For All: Solar for All celebrates the successes and documents the challenges of the first two years of implementing Solar For All, Mayor Muriel Bowser's initiative to provide 100,000 low-to-moderate income families with the benefits of locally generated clean energy. One of the most progressive solar mandates in the U.S., #DCSolarStories exhibits how the District is using innovation and the concept of equity or "equal access" to local, clean energy to slash resident's utility burdens and protect underserved communities in the face of the changing climate.
Solar For All from Pendragwn Productions on Vimeo.
The films is available for free on Vimeo: Peace with Nature and Solar For All. We will connect at 6:30 PM via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83391076365?pwd=djZQa3hvQklncDlTdTdjbnBPdDcxdz09) and everybody will start the films soon after. After the films we will hold a discussion with the filmmakers on Zoom.