Real politics
Planetary Boundaries and a reality check - Skating on a Planet
In Canada the word politics promises adequate human progress. Were it so. Of the approximately 35 political parties in Canada (provincial and federal) not one is publicly active at the local planet of city hall.
Recently I was given the opportunity to make a short (1:47 min) video (Skating on a Planet) which allowed the expression of my deep frustration with the dysfunction of Canada and the sterility of the political process. See video below.
First the high road (searching for Earth's reality). In January 2015 I completed an 8-week, on-line course titled Planetary Boundaries and Human Opportunities: The Quest for Safe and Just Development on a Resilient Planet. The course was offered by the Stockholm Resilience Centre (Stockholm University et al) with Johan Rockström at the helm. As one might suspect, dealing with ideas surrounding 'sustainability science for biosphere stewardship' is not straight-forward.
The course discussed a framework of nine interconnected planetary boundaries that must be approached by humanity all at the same time (1 Climate change, 2 Biosphere integrity, 3 Stratospheric ozone depletion, 4 Ocean acidification, 5 Biogeochemical flows, 6 Land-system change, 7 Freshwater use, 8 Atmospheric aerosol loading, and 9 Novel entities). The course was partially characterized by scientific papers, such as Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet [1] which states in its introduction:
The planetary boundaries framework defines a safe operating space for humanity based on the intrinsic biophysical processes that regulate the stability of the Earth System.... Two core boundaries—climate change and biosphere integrity—have been identified, each of which has the potential on its own to drive the Earth System into a new state should they be substantially and persistently transgressed.
Regarding the course itself, I swam relatively easily through the pre-recorded lectures and readings, ignored the hangouts and chat rooms and did fine in the multiple choice quizzes.
Now the low road (the dysfunction of Canada). At the end of the last module of the course, the academics challenged and encouraged us to submit a short, optional video. Mine became one titled Skating on a Planet. It was intended to be a reality check for the scientists as to what happens when a real (if global) citizen were to attempt to land the (necessary) ideas on board spaceship Planetary Boundaries in the legal fiction of a nation's capital - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. A place where I have been trying to protect biodiversity (and failing miserably) for now 30 years. A place where life is neither tracked nor projected. Nor possible in law.
A reality check - Skating on a planet
[1]Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Will Steffen (Corresponding author. E-mail: will.steffen@anu.edu.au), Katherine Richardson, Johan Rockström, Sarah E. Cornell, Ingo Fetzer, Elena M. Bennett, R. Biggs, Stephen R. Carpenter, Wim de Vries, Cynthia A. de Wit, Carl Folke, Dieter Gerten, Jens Heinke, Georgina M. Mace, Linn M. Persson, Veerabhadran Ramanathan, B. Reyers, and Sverker Sörlin. Published online 15 January 2015 [DOI:10.1126/science.1259855]
Last Updated: May 2015. This website is hosted by National Capital Freenet, a community-run, non-profit organization.
In Canada the word politics promises adequate human progress. Were it so. Of the approximately 35 political parties in Canada (provincial and federal) not one is publicly active at the local planet of city hall.