Sustainability Science
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Sustainability Science
How might we keep the lights on, water flowing, and natural world vaguely intact? It starts with grabbing innovative ideas/examples to help kick down our limits and inspire a more sustainable world. We implement with rigorous science backed by hard data.
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Resettling the First American ‘Climate Refugees’

Resettling the First American ‘Climate Refugees’ | Sustainability Science | Scoop.it
A $48 million grant for Isle de Jean Charles, La., is the first allocation of federal tax dollars to move an entire community struggling with the effects of climate change. In January, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced grants totaling $1 billion in 13 states to help communities adapt to climate change, by building stronger levees, dams and drain.Empty description
PIRatE Lab's insight:
I wouldn't say these are the "first" but rather a harbinger of what is coming.
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Rescooped by PIRatE Lab from Oil spills
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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill NRDA trustees invite public comment on restoration projects Tuesday in Long Beach

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill NRDA trustees invite public comment on restoration projects Tuesday in Long Beach | Sustainability Science | Scoop.it
LONG BEACH, Mississippi --The Deepwater Horizon oil spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees will host a meeting Tuesday at the University of Southern Mississippi campus in Long Beach, seeking public comment on the $627 million in...

Via AimForGood
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Rescooped by PIRatE Lab from Coastal Restoration
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Bringing Down the Housing: How Builders Game the System

Bringing Down the Housing: How Builders Game the System | Sustainability Science | Scoop.it
Design by Andrew J. Nilsen

Nestled into the rugged hillside high atop Twin Peaks, 125 Crown Terrace boasts a breathtaking panorama of the city below. It is the embodiment of the real estate clich&...
PIRatE Lab's insight:

As I have gotten older and more experienced in the ways of the world, I have come to realize that before we can truly tackle environmental problems and management challenges, we need to first have either 1) outright physical might and dominance (i.e. not the best approach) or 2) a stable and just system of laws and policies that are founded on Lockean principals.

 

When we have corruption and cronyism, we can never really achieve the progress we may work so hard and long for in our oceans, land, and air.  I have also found that we here in the States are used to thinking of these concepts of corrupt governments as applying to the developing world (such as our current conservation challenges in Turkey…see here for the latest twist).  This example of corruption above and undue influence peddling in San Francisco (see also this story) and the many examples from across the country (such as USC silencing public disclosure of its real estate transactions, Los Angeles’s Department of Water and Power’s Unions apparently embezzling millions of dollars from the public as the price for their not striking, and New Orleans’s Mayor feeling that natural disaster recovery is his own ticket to graft) are key to stay abreast of.

While these topics may seem far removed from those of us working in the field for responsible management and stewardship of our natural resources, we cannot afford to allow such vice to go unchecked.  At the heart of such unjust behavior is an inability to maintain the public trust and being able to go forward with our progress for planet and people alike.

 

We need only look to the lack of confidence in the U.S. Congress and associated disenchantment with government’s ability to tackle major issues to see the erosive power of corruption.

PIRatE Lab's curator insight, December 28, 2013 5:44 PM

As I have gotten older and more experienced in the ways of the world, I have come to realize that before we can truly tackle environmental problems and management challenges, we need to first have either 1) outright physical might and dominance (i.e. not the best approach) or 2) a stable and just system of laws and policies that are founded on Lockean principals and democratic sunlight.

 

When we have corruption and cronyism, we can never really achieve the progress we may work so hard and long for in our oceans, land, and air.  I have also found that we here in the States are used to thinking of these concepts of corrupt governments as applying to the developing world (such as our current conservation challenges in Turkey…see here for the latest twist).  This example of corruption above and undue influence peddling in San Francisco (see also this story) and the many examples from across the country (such as USC silencing public disclosure of its real estate transactions, Los Angeles’s Department of Water and Power’s Unions apparently embezzling millions of dollars from the public as the price for their not striking, and New Orleans’s Mayor feeling that natural disaster recovery is his own ticket to graft) are key to stay abreast of.

While these topics may seem far removed from those of us working in the field for responsible management and stewardship of our natural resources, we cannot afford to allow such vice to go unchecked.  At the heart of such unjust behavior is an inability to maintain the public trust and being able to go forward with our progress for planet and people alike.

 

We need only look to the lack of confidence in the U.S. Congress and associated disenchantment with government’s ability to tackle major issues to see the erosive power of corruption.