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Entries tagged with ‘environment’
The First Image of Earth from Space
“Earthrise, December 1968 – the first picture of our world taken from space was published 40 years ago this week and still retains its haunting power” (headline from an article in the Independent newspaper from 10th January 2010).
From my own experience, a significant event in the history of science and technology is the first image of the Earth from space. The photograph was captured on Christmas Eve 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission, and was published over 40 years ago in January 1969. That a team of astronauts could travel to space is a great feat and of huge significance for science and technology. The creativity and intelligence of the human mind astounds, and surely has much to offer to sustainability and development.
However, the significance of the image is also symbolic. This image inspired the environmental movement as the social movement as we know it today. This image brought an awareness of a global environment. Seen as the ‘blue marble’ suspended in space, the potential fragility and finiteness of the Earth became apparent. Focus widened to an awareness of more global or transnational threats, and a dialogue between the green movement, which became institutionalised in environmental NGOs, and the private sector and governments was established worldwide.
The significance of the environmental movement today can be seen in its “impact on cultural values and society’s institutions”, in its “distinctive place in the landscape of human adventure”, and how it is “at the root of a dramatic reversal in the ways in which we think about the relationship between economy, society, and nature, thus inducing a new culture” (Castells, 1997). The importance of this ‘new culture’ for sustainability and development is that it links the public with ideas and progress in innovation and technology.
The pursuit of science and technology does not take place in a vacuum, it is given legitimacy by civil society. The environmental movement served as a two-way bridge between the research, design and development in innovation and sustainability and their intended sites for use and implementation, the public sphere. This is a two-way communication whereby civil society informs innovation and sustainability and vice versa, a symbiotic relationship driving science and technology forward on a greener path.
Source: Castells, M. (1997) The Power of Identity. Oxford: Blackwell Publications.
Entry submitted by Orla Martin
Documentary film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’
‘An Inconvenient Truth’ is a documentary film about passionate and inspirational former U.S. Vice President Al Gore’s campaign to educate people about global warming.
This film was so shocking and successful that it became a worldwide phenomenon, the most-watched documentary, seen by an estimated audience of 5 million people.
Since its release in 2006 the film has helped awaken governments, leaders, organizations and individuals across the world to take action on global warming.
Entry submitted by Jurgita Zukauskaite
OECD: Achieving the Successful Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies
The paper states that in order to successfully transfer environmentally sound technologies, much has to be done both by the developed and developing countries. For example, the paper suggests that there has to be a transfer of know-how, capacity building and technical skills through training. Governments should eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers. Developed countries have to help with financial resources, and new technologies have to be adapted to the recipient country context.
Source: OECD website
Entry submitted by Rosalie Lehel
“Our Common Future” UN Brundtland Commission Report
The first internationally commissioned document to declare issues of environmental concern and human development as an ‘interlocking crises’.
Following from the UN Conference on the Human Environment, the report highlighted the need to recognise the interdependence of nations and the need for a multilateral approach in solving global development issues.
The concept of ’sustainable development’ was defined famously as:
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:
• the concept of ‘needs’, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
• the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.”
This definition has been under close scrutiny since the report’s publication, providing the basis for political and environmental discourse to this day.
Entry submitted by Gyto Pugh
Background paper / Reforming the Global Food and Agriculture System: Towards a Questioning Agenda for the New Manifesto
By Erik Millstone, John Thompson, Sally Brooks
In the face of the pressing challenges posed by hunger, malnutrition and the vulnerability of our food system, it is imperative that radical reforms to the food system are articulated and implemented.
UN Conference on Environment and Development
Thirteen years after the Vienna Conference, one of the key issues at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, , also known as the Rio Summit or Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3-14th June, 1992, was taken from the unresolved agenda of ‘Vienna’: technology cooperation and the access of developing countries to the industrialized world’s advanced technology.
