The Conference Debrief

Ok…that’s a wrap for the conference.  Now I feel the need to Debrief.  So, for anyone who reads this, if you haven’t read the prior two posts, it won’t make a lot of sense, but here goes.

What I Learned

This conference was really fantastic; so worth the trip to Minnesota to attend.  I learned lots and lots of facts, all of which you can garner for yourself through the links to the presentations.  

But in the big scope of things, what I learned is that if we don’t change our ways….FAST….the Ocean is doomed.  And of course, once we kill the Ocean we have in fact killed our Planet, because life on our Planet cannot exist without a healthy, thriving Ocean.  

What I learned at this conference and through reading Bill Bryson’s book, “The History of Almost Everything” is that life balances on a finely tuned teeter totter.  In other words, there are very tightly framed margins within which life can exist, and we have taken life to the very edges of those margins and are about to push past them.  When we do, there will be no turning back.  

I expect eyes to roll and readers to shrug their shoulders and say, “We’ve heard this before, it won’t happen”….but it will.  We are doing it right now and if you don’t believe it, then watch the presentations!!!

My Forecast for the Future

Unfortunately for readers I have to fess up and embrace the fact that I am a Cynic.  I have no hope, whatsoever, that the course of human action will change from its current direction.  I do in fact think that eventually, in the not so distant future, we will annihilate life on Earth.  What we are up against is ….. Ourselves, and what we are Unwilling to Change or Accept.

So, specifically, what are we up against?

 Ignorance – On the grandest scale and at so many levels it is ignorance that is leading us into the abyss. The masses have no comprehension of the impact of our species on the planet.  And even those who are well educated tend to ignore the facts and information because it is way too inconvenient. 

Then there is the group who proclaims that the earth is too big for our species have that kind of impact, to so radically change the biology and chemistry of Earth.  I say back, the Earth was never intended to support the billions of humans who now inhabit it and that the evidence is everywhere that we are having that kind of impact.  As Dave Gallo said in his presentation, we have become a virus on this planet.  

 Example after example is out there if we just open our eyes to them.

§    Recently I stopped for a visit with family at their campsite.  During the course of the visit I saw them throw plastic spoons and forks into their campfire.  When I made a comment their response was, “Yes, we know we should recycle, but we don’t.”  We have known for a long time about air pollution and what we are doing to our air, and yet there they were, ignoring the very information that will help keep them alive. 

Every time we light a campfire, every time we don’t recycle, every time we use pesticides or herbicides and all the other ‘cides’ that we have created, we are impacting the quality of life on this earth.

§    The news account of moving the space shuttle to its final resting place in California and along the way cutting down 400 trees to get it there is another simple example.  We have known for ions the role trees play in our air quality, and yet 400 are cut down for the sake of moving a space shuttle.  These decisions are made because decision makers think that cutting down just these few trees won’t make a difference…but it does.

·        Government – Our government and all the world’s governments have the information they need to make the tough decisions that must be made.  And yet over and over again we hear they must have more information or the information they have is conveniently ignored.  It is the governments that have the resources and power to make the changes that must be made on the largest scales that we must have to reverse our trajectory…and yet they don’t.  And we as voters, place the issue of ecology and conservation on the very lowest rung of the hierarchy of issues, so that no matter who we vote into office, our path does not change.

·        Wealth - It is the individual wealth that we have in this country and in other developed countries around the world that will block our road to sustainability.  As a people, if we can afford a nice home with all the amenities, most of us are not willing to give up that luxury and take steps to reduce our individual carbon footprint on the planet.  It is a tough decision to make when you have worked so long for what you want to then acknowledge that the very lifestyle you embrace is leading us to a dead planet. 

If we could take the wealth of the top 50 wealthiest people in just our country and apply that wealth to building sustainable communities that function off the grid….we might begin to make an impact.

·        Poverty – Poverty plays as much of a role as Wealth.  When we look at it from the highest level, we see how developing countries have suffered too long in environments that are debilitating to its citizens.  And yet as countries such as China and India move forward in economic wealth they are repeating the same mistakes that all developed countries have made since the rise of industrialism.  We cannot blame them for wanting what we have taken for granted so long…and yet it is another piece of the matrix that dooms us.

·        Greed – Greed comes in many forms, but the one I want to focus on is the greed of corporations on this planet. 

Since the rise of industrialism we have seen corporations become more and more powerful.  They have an overwhelming presence in our national government, they seek ever larger profits that warp their perspective of what is ethical and moral behavior and their decisions rarely take into account their impact on the sustainability of life.  All you need to do is walk through the isle ways of Wal-Mart to see the most visible signs of their impact. 

The shelves of every major retail outlet are filled with so many products that serve little to no purpose in the quality of our lives and most of that product ends in landfills, landfills that have already become a burden to the planet. 

And that is simply the most visible impact of big business.  Beyond that visibility is an entire big business structure that is almost impossible to stop.  Consider the years and years of cigarette production which evidence now indicates the industry knew exactly the implications of their product on human health.  And yet for years they continued to strengthen the levels of nicotine in their product to ensure continued usage by addicted smokers.

Another example is concisely spelled out in a book I am currently reading; The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom 1879-1960 by Douglas Brinkley.  In this book chapter after chapter describes the efforts of the forestry industry, fishing industry, mining, oil, etc., etc. to strip Alaska of the very wilderness that has through the centuries, defined it.  The battles that have been waged by John Muir and those who came after him have been battles of monumental proportions, most, over time, have been lost. 

And it isn’t just big business that wants to strip all of Alaska of its natural resources.  It is also the mentality, off again and on again, toward the wildlife of the region; the overwhelming mindset of so many to annihilate the wolves through not just ‘fair’ hunting practices, but by plane and cyanide baits and bombs, bombs that kill not only wolves but caribou, Dall sheep, other animals and plants.  There were men in their time who bragged over killing 300+ wolves, just from shear hatred.  Men who took pride in their knowledge of how to track down a wolf den and decimate an entire pack. 

Our crime toward nature and life on this planet knows no end.

Yes, I know, that what I write above has little to say about our Ocean, but if you are tuned in nature and her role on this planet, you know that every piece of her is connected.  If you want examples and facts regarding the Ocean, click on the links to the presentations in my first two posts. 

Next Steps

What was interesting to me regarding each of the 8 presentations is that each presenter, while they presented in some instances, facts that are frightening, they all seemed filled with hope and confidence that we would respond to the crisis that is unfolding as you read this.  Most of the presenters ended their Q&A period with a comment regarding what each of us can do to turn the tide…so to speak.  The answer was simple….find your gift and use it for the saving of our Ocean.  

So…I consider my gift the art of communication.  I know that just a few people will read this blog, but if a few read it and that empowers them to identify their gift and aim it toward saving the Ocean, then we are moving in the right direction.  

Specifically, what can be done…

·        First – spend one hour a day for the next 8 days watching each of the presentations.  (You can skip the first chemist…his is too hard to understand, so that cuts it down to 7 days!!!)  GET INFORMED!!  If it is not the Ocean for you, find an environmental issue and make it your own.

·        To press home our impact on the earth, I think I will start researching and blogging on the species that we have caused to go extinct, focusing on our impact on those animals and pushing the fact that life as a whole can go extinct on this planet if we don’t change our ways.  It would also be easy to do likewise with animals that are in danger of going extinct.  Maybe that information will start people to think a little more.

·        Join an environmental organization…there are hundreds out there and one will appeal to you when you find the right one.  Whether it is the Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, Greenspeace, whatever…find a group you can learn from and who can use your talents….it is time for all of us to step forward and let the world know we are concerned!

·        Learn, learn, learn….never stop learning.  Gather every fact you can and make sure it is a fact.

·        Support our scientists.   Another interesting learning at the conference was from Christopher Sabine, presenter #5.  He commented how the typical role for scientists is to research and gather facts, present those facts and then start all over again. 

He was very pleased with the results of NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory when its team of scientist began working with the fishing industries of the Oregon and Washington coasts.  What they learned from this effort was when the scientist presented the scientific facts to the fishing industries they in turn began using that information to alter their processes for their catches thereby increasing the population of the fish they were catching.  Want more information?  Watch his presentation.  We need to support our scientists to move them out of the labs and into partnerships with big business to make the changes we need to make to save our Ocean and our Planet. 

These are just a few ideas that come immediately to mind for me.  What are your ideas?

So…will I go back next year?? You betcha!!!  The 49^th Nobel Conference topic was announced at this year’s conference.  Topic next year is “The Universe At Its Limits”.  Dates are set for October 1 & 2, 2013.  For more information, follow this link….

https://gustavus.edu/events/nobelconference/2013/