After Decades of Failure… During the second half of the twentieth century, the deforestation of the tropics became a global concern. Young people everywhere learned at an early age that “saving the rainforest” was one of the most urgent needs of the planet. Yet, for decades, these worries had no real effect on the reality […]
Search results
Posted inFeature
Saving Endangered Languages Before They Disappear
“I will soon go berry-picking and I will take my language with me.” So I was told some years ago by Marta Kongaraeva, one of the last fluent speakers of a language of a unique group of people from Siberia known as Tofa, who traditionally practiced a form of a hunting/gathering that used reindeer as […]
Posted inFeature
Resilience Metrics: Lessons from Military Doctrines
As terrorist attacks and natural disasters become more frequent and costly, the U.S. Office of the President is initiating a national push to create a more resilient society1-3 that can recover from these events and persevere. Resilience, as defined by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS), is the ability to plan and prepare for, […]
Posted inFeature
Achieving Sustainable Societies: Lessons from Modelling the Ancient Maya
The archaeological record reveals diverse societies that flourished in their time and place and succeeded in achieving impressive works of architecture, novel technological advancement, complex economies, and other measures of human achievement. The archaeological record also shows complex societies having declined, some gradually, others precipitously, with common explanations including changing environmental conditions, greedy rulers, wars […]
Posted inFeature
Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructure for Urban Energy Systems
Each year, billions of dollars in energy infrastructure are damaged or destroyed as a result of natural disasters, causing significant social and economic disruptions. Climate change and urbanization, especially the growth of megacities, are amplifying these threats, and the frequency and costs of disasters are rising. However, simply restoring infrastructure systems of the past may […]
Posted inFeature
Toward a More Resilient Agriculture
Agriculture is both critical for human well-being1 and a major driver of environmental decline2. Agricultural development is rightly perceived as being a significant component of efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals,4 which aim to combat hunger and malnutrition and improve social conditions in the world’s poorest nations. As the human population expands to more […]
Posted inFeature
Reducing Illegal Fishing in the Southern Ocean: A Global Effort
It is the summer of 2002 in the Southern Ocean. The seas are rough and a ship is hauling in a longline that was set at a depth of more than a thousand meters. The catch is illegally caught Patagonian toothfish—a white-fleshed predatory fish in the Antarctic. It is hauled on board, removed from the […]
Posted inFeature
How to Build a More Equal American Society: Lessons from Successful Experiences
There is a widespread belief that as countries become richer, their citizens benefit from a better quality of life. However, the evidence shows that once countries attain a certain standard of living, it is the distribution of income and wealth within the society that actually determines health and well-being as well as a range of […]
Posted inFeature
Collaborative Leadership for Sustainable Development in Global Supply Chains: Partnering Across Sectors to Reduce Amazon Deforestation
Amazon deforestation is a consequence of global demand for food.1 Forests get cleared mostly to graze livestock, but some get cleared to grow soybeans, as soy is a more profitable crop. Brazilian soybean production increased from 1 million tons in 1969 to 63 million tons in 2009 to about 90 million tons today, which would […]
Posted inFeature
Resilience: Navigating toward a Sustainable Future
Whenever a disaster strikes, such as the 2011 Fukushima meltdown or the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, our instinctive response is to overcome the shock, assist the victims, and return to normal as quickly as possible. But perhaps returning to normal is the wrong strategy. Perhaps, instead, we should try to understand the changing conditions that […]