Solutions for Sustainability

It's 7pm, November 8th and there's now just over a dozen locals gathered in this small meeting room of the Senior Resource Center for this presentation of Lester Brown's proposals for a practical approach to the human factor on the global climate.  Plan B is Brown's response to a "world on the edge."

...humanity toward a sustainable society ...
In 1974, Lester Brown founded, with the aid of a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Worldwatch Institute, devoted to analysis of global environmental issues.  A thinktank focused on environmental issues, the goal was to educate the people and government about environmental problems and to recommend actions.  He was also given the MacArthur Foundation's genius award in 1986.

At the Earth Policy Institute, which he established in 2001 after leaving Worldwatch, Brown's interdisciplinary experience provided him with a refined ability to notice and track trends.  This new project was devoted to providing a plan to save civilization.

...to be addressed ...
After watching a portion of the Plan B Movie,  the speaker, Rebecca Heyer escorted us through a selection of slides covering the four main goals of the proposal.  This is also where the night was opened to more of a discussion over the bullets.  The first two, stabilizing population and eradicating poverty can both be handled with one global initiative ...education.  According to one attendee, " ...births decline when standards of living improve ..."  The consensus of the trends that Lester Brown brings to light show strong, relative correlations between population, poverty and education.  The lower/lacking education in societies or cultures tend to have higher population rates and higher poverty numbers.  The trends also indicate that in cultures where women are better educated, they in turn contribute more in the direction and well-being of the family unit, to include the size of the family unit.

Social goals was the third of the proposal.  From individual resolutions of saving energy costs at home and recycling, to local city planning of biking/walking paths and community gardens and much, much more, there is a myriad of activities that as individuals and as communities we can all get more involved in to be more self-sustainable.  Being self-sustainable also means less reliant.  Local involvement in city, county and state dealings with things like water and air quality, ground contamination, and efficient energy policies and programs put the power of the people in the forefront.

The fourth goal discussed is the local, state and global effort of restoring the Earth.  According to Lester's plan as calculated in 2009, a global commitment of $110 billion towards restoration efforts could make the difference in the direction of human impact on the global climate.  From planting trees and the conservation cultivation of topsoil, to the protection of biological diversities and rangelands or fisheries.  The list goes on and on of things that can be done, locally and globally.

At least according to the slides presented (and i always urge further reading and research), local and state initiatives around the globe have made tremendous differences in relatively short periods.  In South Korea, they have reforested 65% of its land.  Over the last 25 years, the United States has reduced soil erosion 40% by retiring cropland and practicing conservation tillage, while increasing grain harvest 20%.  Fishing restrictions in 6600 sq. miles of marine reserve in the Gulf of Maine has increased population over 90%, size over 30% and diversity 20% of the different species of fish there ...within two years.

...you, me, them ...
Awareness is the first step to any problem encountered ...individually and communally.  Recognizing that there is a problem that needs to be addressed precludes any direction of solutions.  The next step is educating yourself, first on the general impact then the big picture.  The links provided in this article and a general web search will be all one needs for a beginner's course on the subject.  Connect with others in the local environment that share the interest or that we can learn more from:  all sides, all disciplines.  Then, getting involved locally with organizations or groups working toward this sustainability.  Right here in Pensacola, we have 350Pensacola/Sustainable Gulf Coast program, the newly formed Pensacola Solutions Project, the University of West Florida student-led green energy initiative for the campus, not to mention the average local citizen adapting their own environments and business owners promoting sustainability efforts, and several more.  I personally would recommend beginning by reading this government article on the impact of human activity on the global climate and environment.  Also, sites such as Dirty Kilowatts/Environmental Integrity Project can give the viewer a run down on plants that emit dangerous levels of toxins and poisons into the ground and air.

The debate goes on over the degree to which human activities have affected global climate, or could have in the future but, it is undoubtedly true that an impact HAS been made, and an impact CAN be made.