The Good News Paradox: Reflecting on the Human Development Index
This year's Human Development Index (HDI) came out last week and it was full of good news. The HDI started out 20 years ago to provide a way of indexing development and progress that gives a fuller picture of human...
Game for Change: Fate of the World
New Computer Game Simulates Challenges of Global Warming A British company has developed a new computer game that allows players to save the planet from the effects of global warming — at least in a simulated setting. “Fate of the...
Keeping Within Our Earthly Limits
The Living Planet Report, produced by WWF and its partners, shows that humanity’s demands still outstrip the world’s natural resources – a trend likely to worsen, unless leading countries begin to provide the highest quality of life with the lowest...
Biodiversity 100: An Update on the Campaign
Editor's Note: We reported on the launch of the Biodiversity 100 campaign in August. Now Alison Killing has an update on their efforts and how their work coincides with the biodiversity summit currently taking place in Nagoya, Japan. (composite screenshot...
The Ley Lines of Globalization: Analyzing Shipping Freight Around the World
Six years ago, early in my tenure at Berkman, I wrote a blog post that tried to calculate the cost of shipping water from a bottling plant in Yaqara, Fiji to Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was interested in unpacking the everyday...
Maude Barlow: Hope and Real Action in the Face of Ecological Disaster
One of my personal heroes, Maude Barlow, recently gave a great speech at the Environmental Grantmakers Association entitled: We are Facing the Greatest Threat to Humanity: Only Fundamental Change Can Save Us. The full speech is a long, but moving...
Alex Steffen on Carbon Neutral Cities at Seattle Town Hall
In just a few weeks Alex Steffen will be returning to Seattle's Town Hall to give a talk on the "State of the Future," and present his new ideas about global sustainability and planetary futurism. In the coming week we...
Resource: Map of Worldwide Ecological Footprints
WWF Living Planet map of ecological footprints worldwide: A global map of the relative ecological footprint per person in 2007. The darker the color, the higher the footprint. (Click image for bigger picture) This post originally appeared on The Guardian
The Frozen Zoo: A Seed Bank for Endangered Animals
Editor's Note: We've talked a lot about the sixth extinction, biodiversity loss and the need to catalog the Earth's biosphere, and what we can do to raise awareness and make species loss more visible; now here's a new angle in...
Hiding Behind the Numbers
Yesterday, Sara Parkin urged policymakers to focus on fertility as a means to cutting emissions. But David Satterthwaite believes an emphasis on population is a distraction from the real problem – consumption by the rich. by David Satterthwaite In our...
Family Planning, Sustainable Research, and Dongtan
Looking back one, two and five years ago today (give or take!) on Worldchanging: 2009 Defusing The Population Bomb Adam Stein reflects on a study that suggests family planning is one of the lowest-cost ways to reduce CO2... 2008 Reader...
Bright Green Youth, Mapping a Connected World, and The Girl in the Cafe
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Worldchanging on the Road: Bright Green Youth Julia Levitt advocates for activating and energizing youth in activism for the future and recounts her experience presenting some Worldchanging ideas...
Must-See: Bill McKibben on David Letterman + Time for Action Now
The founder of 350.org and the author most recently of the must-read book Eaarth — has a great interview with David Letterman. Dave is more knowledgeable on climate and energy issues than the vast majority of ‘real’ journalists, though he...
Demographic Instability, PeakX, Constraint-Storming and Other Short Items
Reaching peak population as quickly as humanely possible is a pressing Worldchanging concern, but on the ground in poor countries, the concern is less about peak population than the demographic transition it takes to produce stable societies in an age...
Earth's a Star: MESSENGER Spacecraft Captures the Earth and the Moon
Earth and Moon from 114 Million Miles (NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington via Messenger website) NASA has released a stunning image of the Earth and the Moon taken by the MESSENGER spacecraft: In the lower...
The Little Book of Shocking Eco Facts
The publishers of "The Little Book of Shocking Global Facts" is releasing a successor this fall: "The Little Book of Shocking Eco Facts." The book is by Mark Crundwell and Cameron Dunn, with illustrations by Barnbrook Design. Much like...
Resource: New Mobile App to Combat Climate Skeptics
Ever wish you had all the top climate information at your fingertips? If you're the owner of a smart phone, then your wish has been fulfilled: the "Skeptical Science" app for iphones, Android phones, and Nokia phones is available now...
Scientific Literacy, CO2 Abatement, and Movies for Change
Looking back one, two, and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Unscientific America 2: Buy The Book - And Read It Joe Romm reviews Chris Mooney's and Sheril Kirshenbaum's book about how scientific illiteracy threatens our future... 2008 Buildings--the...
US CO2: A BP-Size Leak Every 3 Hours
Editor's Note: This post reveals a new way of visualizing the problem of CO2 emissions in the United States by comparing them to the more-talked-about BP Gulf oil spill. For more on the systemic ramifications of, and solutions to, the...
When a Billion Chinese Jump: An Interview with Author Jonathan Watts
As the Beijing-based Asia Environment Correspondent for The Guardian, Jonathan Watts has reported on environmental issues in China for several years. His new book, "When a Billion Chinese Jump," is a travelogue that tells the story of China's breakneck development...
Straight Up: Joe Romm and Bill McKibben Discuss Effective Political Action
Bill McKibben — some-time guest blogger and the author most recently of the must-read book Eaarth — has a challenging review of my book Straight Up in the Washington Monthly. He literally challenges me to talk more about political movements...
Digital Rivers: Complete Map of the World's River Systems Online Now
Bernhard Lehner, an assistant professor at McGill University in Montréal, has created the first accurate and complete map of the world's river systems, all in the digital domain. This river map allows rivers to be tracked across national boundaries. Lehner...
TED Global 2010: Rachel Sussman Photographs Plants from before Year Zero
Rachel Sussman is photographing organisms that are more than 2000 years old. The project was inspired by Jamon Sugi, a two thousand year old Japanese Cedar at a remote island called Yaku Shima. The project is a combination of philosophy...
4C Interactive Google Earth Map Launched
Interactive tool layering climate data over Google Earth maps shows the impact of an average global temperature rise of 4C. by Adam Vaughan A new interactive Google Earth map was developed using peer-reviewed science from the Met Office Hadley Centre...
Climate Wars Radio, Typical vs Exceptional Examples, and Adapting to Aging
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Gwynne Dyer's Climate Wars: Now a Radio Series Hassan Masum points out that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has done a radio series based on the book, Climate Wars...
Counting Greenhouse Gases, Stabilizing at 350ppm, and Citizen Broadcasting
Looking back one, two and five years ago today (give or take!) on Worldchanging: 2009 Reader Report: The World's First Real Time Carbon Counter Bryan Mitchiner reports on the launch of the "Know the Number" greenhouse gas emissions counter: the...
Renewable Energy, Sustainable Development in Africa, and Bioprospecting
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Interview with IRENA Director General Nominee Hans JÇ¿rgen Koch Ben Block interviews Hans JÇ¿rgen Koch on renewable energy... 2008 Seeing the African Challenge in a Single Graph Our...
We Need Bold Public Innovation, Values-Based Approaches to Sustainability, and Phytoplankton
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Special Innovation Zone: Imagination Without Regulation Alex Steffen looks at the social inertia and institutional, legal and regulatory barriers that many innovative ideas and projects face on the...
Design for Digital Inclusion, a Geekalicious Greenhouse Gas Graphic, and the Fallen Fruit Project
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Beth Kolko and Design for Digital Inclusion Ethan Zuckerman reports on Beth Kolko and her research group Design for Digital Inclusion at the University of Washington. The group...
A Carbon Counting Billboard and an Introduction to Physical Computing
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Closing the Climate Change Accounting Loophole -- With a Billboard Mindy S. Lubber at the Huffington Post reports on a 67-by-32 foot billboard "Carbon Counter" outside New York...
Roundup: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
The United Nation's project The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) is "a major international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity, to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and to draw...
Bye-Bye Rocketships, Phasing Out Coal, and Kidnapping in Kabul
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 "The Rocketship Wonder of Earlier Decades is Gone" Alex Steffen provides a great round-up of the talks at worldchanging ally and writer Geoff Manaugh's London conference, Thrilling Wonder...
What if Carbon Dioxide Were as Black as Oil?
Christopher Reddy, an associate scientist and director of the Coastal Ocean Institute at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, asks "What if carbon dioxide were as black as oil?" in a great new article on CNN.com. This is a very...
Retrofit Ramp-Up: The US DOE's Innovative Climate Action at the Local Level
Nominated by Zoë Chafe Retrofit Ramp-Up The US Department of Energy (DOE) is on to something: In April, the department announced that $452 million of federal funding would be directed toward energy efficiency projects in 25 communities around the country...
Daily Dump: A Creative Commons Concept for Composting Worldwide
Nominated by Jesper Pagh I love Daily Dump. Why throw away valuables as waste? That is the simple yet profound idea behind Daily Dump. As of May 2010 Daily Dump customers keep 4095.8 kgs of organic waste out of landfills...
Jeff Warren: Mapping the Oil Spill with Balloons and Kites
Nominated by Jennifer Marlow Jeff Warren of the MIT Media Lab's Center for Future Civic Media is mapping the BP oil spill one balloon at a time. Launching cheap digital cameras tied to helium balloons floated above the oil booms...
Dx1W Competition: Third World Solutions to First World Problems
Nominated by Dawn Danby My favorite project in a long time: Design for the First World Design for the First World (Dx1W) is a competition for designers, artists, scientists, makers and thinkers in developing countries to provide solutions for First...
An Algae Comic and Resources for Watersheds and Climate Change Impacts
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Graphic Series: Earthly Ideas, Algae Energy This post is part of a series featuring Worldchanging ally Andy Lubershane's original graphics. Use this medium in your classroom, or on...
Link Roundup: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
This morning I received an email from a Worldchanging reader who was amazed at the lack of coverage of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico here at Worldchanging. I agree with the reader that...
Positive Outlooks for Solar Power, Community Design, and the Environment
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Solar Carbon Payback Some naysayers argue that solar panels don't make sense because it takes so much energy to make them--mining, smelting or refining, processing, etc. Do they...
Climate Trauma, Oil Prices, and Mixing Renewables
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Dealing With Climate Trauma and Global Warming Burnout Joe Romm outlines how to stay positive in the face of bad climate news... 2008 SUV Rollover Soaring gas prices...
Swine Flu, Resilience TV, and the WEE Man
Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 Swine Flu: We're All In This Together Sarah Kuck reports on the Swine Flu, and points out that it is just one of many events highlighting our interconnectedness...
29 Graphs of Climate Change Science in One Place
If you have ever wanted a one stop shop of climate change data, then check out Scott A. Mandia's compilation of "all the data you need to show that the world is warming" posted at Climate Progress. The post includes...
Spacehack: Open Source Astronomy for All
by Kirstin Butler After all the hullabaloo over Balloon Boy, it’s reassuring to learn that some Americans look up for reasons other than media pranks. In fact, whole communities of amateur astronomers and citizen scientists look to the skies for...
The Other Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis In Global Land Use
Article by Jonathan Foley As the international community focuses on climate change as the great challenge of our era, it is ignoring another looming problem – the global crisis in land use. With agricultural practices already causing massive ecological impact...
Resource: Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism
Throughout history, some architects have earned reputations as egoists who want to impose their ideals on culture through their massive structures. Industry masters are often viewed as untouchable, as few can afford their services. Not to mention, the majority...
Calling All Map Geeks
Cool site. Visit now. Go here. Now. Or maybe don't, if you don't want to get sucked into a vortex of clever map awesomeness. This tidbit was originally posted on the Sightline Institute's blog, The Daily Score.
The Atlas of Hidden Water
[Image: From the "atlas of hidden water." Check out the original PDF or simply view it larger]. An "atlas of hidden water" has been created to reveal where the world's freshwater aquifers really lie. "The hope," New Scientist reports...
Photo Essay: The 2008 World Expo
by Justine Bayod Espoz We encourage submissions from members of Worldchanging's global audience who volunteer to write up their notes from conferences, workshops and other worldchanging happenings they participate in. If you'd like to contribute your own report, please email...
Resources: U.S. Impacts of Climate Change, Human Development
Two new reports offer useful tools for thinking about the future, both focused on the United States and both needed. The first report, Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health, Settlements and Welfare comes out the U.S...
Corn v. Crude
Why are corn and oil prices rising in tandem? I've become a bit obsessive about oil prices -- I check them online several times each day, just out of habit. But most other commodities remain something of a mystery to...
The Moons of Saturn
A few years ago, I met Carolyn Porco, Cassini Imaging Team Leader at the Space Science Institute, who subsequently signed me up for her email newsletter. Now, normally, I'd just unsubscribe myself and move on, but something about the...
Guest Editorial: Water Trading in China: A Step Toward Sustainability
by Yingling Liu In recent years, scarcity and pollution of water have become the paramount environmental woe in China. Numerous reports and books have exposed China's water crisis, depicting a nation suffering in the face of black-running rivers and...
Water, water, everywhere...
On March 22, World Water Day will continue to draw our attention to the pressing issue of global water supply. We’ve written about World Water Day before and its efforts to bring attention to the more than 1.2 billion people...
What Does Climate Change Do to Our Heads?
By Sanjay Khanna A small yet growing body of evidence suggests that how people think and feel is being influenced strongly by ecosystem transformation related to climate change and industry-related displacement from the land. These powerful stressors are occurring...
Two Extraordinary Works About Nature
My interest in nature films and photography has picked up recently, as I've spent time time with an incredible book and a phenomenal documentary: The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss is quite simply one of the cooler photography...
The Best Climate Change Websites
It's supposed to hit 96 degrees here in Seattle today, so (scientific certainty or no) climate is on our minds, and I thought this would be a good opportunity for an overview of climate resources online. If you're looking for...
Review: Under a Green Sky
Scientists are telling us that we need to rapidly and substantially reduce our ecological footprint -- think one planet, three decades. We're optimistic that such a transformation is possible, Because we focus on solutions here, we rarely think about, much...
Jellyfish House
The Jellyfish House, a recent project by San Francisco's IwamotoScott Architecture, has been "modeled on the idea that, like the sea creature, it coexists with its environment." As such, the entirety of the Jellyfish House is designed to operate "as...
The Wind Bank and the Battery
When it was announced at the beginning of January that Australian researchers had developed a kind of wind battery – an "electricity storage system that promises to transform the role of wind energy" – I immediately thought of a...
The Sea Around Us
by Rachel Carson (Oxford University Press, 2003) An instant classic upon its original publication in 1951, The Sea Around Us is the timeless story of the oceans, told through memorable images and recounted in loving prose. However, it is also...
An Inconvenient Truth
by Al Gore (Rodale Books, 2006) If you want a crash course in what climate change is, how we know itï¿œs here, and what we can expect if we donï¿œt do something about it, there is no better resource...
The Soul of Soil: A Soil-Building Guide for Master Gardeners and Farmers
by Grace Gershuny and Joe Smillie (Chelsea Green Publishing, 1999) To understand soil as the foundation on which all agricultural activities are built is the first step in ï¿œhonoring our oneness with all living creatures and helping the long process...
The Future of Life
by Edward O. Wilson (Alfred A Knopf, 2002) Biologist Edward O. Wilson is one of the worldï¿œs most respected scientists. Heï¿œs also one of the ones ringing the loudest alarm bells. The Future of Life, his call to arms, is...
