Good News for the Biosphere at-a-Glance!
This email is not a commercial initiative, but a free expression of optimism about the potential of humankind and the progress being made to help sustain and regenerate our biosphere.
The Rights of Nature Movement Advances
Ireland could become the first country in the EU to enshrine the rights of nature into its national constitution. The Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action has recommended the government advance a referendum on protecting biodiversity. The move would see nature bestowed with rights comparable to those of people. It came in response to a report from the Irish Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. Systemic roadblocks in the U.S. legal system have thwarted efforts to advance the rights of nature movement in many areas. However, some Colorado advocates are testing a new approach. A town in Colorado has appointed two legal guardians to act on behalf of nature—in this case, a section of Boulder Creek and its watershed situated within the town of Nederland. Activists are hailing the move as the first time humans have been appointed to act as legal guardians for nature within the United States Lear more here or here.
Follow the Money: The Finance for Biodiversity Pledge is a Good Start
163 financial institutions have taken the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge stating; we know that healthy societies, resilient economies and thriving businesses rely on nature. Together let’s protect, restore, and sustainably manage our natural resources. We make every effort to take our share of responsibility and contribute to the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems through our financing activities and investments. The pledge incorporates 5 goals: collaborating and sharing knowledge, engaging with companies, assessing impact, setting targets and reporting publicly before 2025. The nonprofit Finance for Biodiversity Foundation leads this effort, learn more here.
Solar Now Leads Growth in the Global Energy Transition
Renewable energy didn’t just grow last year — it expanded at a pace not seen in years. An estimated 507 gigawatts of renewable electricity were added to grids around the world in 2023 — a new record, and an almost 50 percent year-over-year increase from 2022. That’s the fastest growth rate renewable additions have seen in over two decades. Solar — both utility-scale and rooftop — is the undisputed leader when it comes to new generation. Over 370 gigawatts of solar power were installed around the world in 2023, equal to about three-quarters of the new renewable energy built last year, according to the latest report by the International Energy Agency. Additional details here.
It is not that Hard; Just Ask Nature!
Humanity faces many challenges. Nature holds solutions. To discover them, all we have to do is ask. Explore featured content at Ask Nature to learn from other species' successful strategies and adaptations. When we ask nature, first we quiet our human cleverness. Then we ask, and then we listen. The answer is the echo that bounces off of the land herself. With the solution in hand, we always end the circle by saying thank you.” Janine Benyus. Begin your search here.
The Eco-Civilization Framework; A Call for Higher Consciousness
As the planet burns, authoritarian populists dominate politics, oil executives direct the COP process, and the wealthy elite pull further away from everyone else, it is difficult not to draw the conclusion that the movement for a beneficial future is failing. We clearly need to do something very different. A Global Citizens Movement organized around how ecosystems themselves organize is needed to take humanity to a higher level of consciousness. A key underlying principle of ecosystems, along with other complex adaptive systems, is reciprocal causality: all the disparate parts work together to form a coherent whole, while the system as a whole gives cohesion to the activities of each of the parts.
Jeremy Lent discusses this idea in a recent paper for the Great Transition Initiative and reprinted in the latest issue of Resilience. Read Jeremy’s article here.
Our Biosphere - Is defined as that part of the Earth in which living organisms exist (the entire zone of life). As such, it is viewed as all the places that support life and includes the overlapping zones of the atmosphere, the upper part of the geosphere, and all of the hydrosphere. Or more simply; any place on Earth where life can exist. Not protecting our Biosphere is the root cause for most of the critical environmental, social and economic disasters we face today in the Anthropocene Era.
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Bill Stough, LLC | 616.889.0640 | PO Box 414, Byron Center, MI 49315