At a recent conference and planning workshop sponsored by the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, participants took part in a climate risk management exercise to define possible climate change scenarios. They were given lists of risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities as tools to imagine viable responses. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill describes the exercise and explains the scenarios and how they might be transformed and implemented as plans for action. And he argues that the need for risk management is necessary, regardless of the climate change debate.
Externality refers to a disconnected or unconsidered consequence. Hydrofracking, mountaintop removal, filled wetlands, carbon emissions, and plastic pollution are all examples of intrusion into natural systems where the full cost is not valued. In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill will discuss the real, various, and dangerous externalities of climate change and will assert that to deny them is simplistic and defeatist.
An article published by The Guardian in October provides a stark exposé of one of the largest Chinese suppliers of premium tuna to the Japanese market. The findings were alarming: a company circumventing international conservation limits by simply ignoring them; a government unwilling to crack down on illegal fishing because it does not fit past patterns of behavior; an industry that does nothing to honor catch limits set by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations. The list of revelations goes on. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will further outline the article by journalist Shannon Service, in which she discusses political ambitions, military might, shady dealings, global protein supplies, marine resources, territorial aspirations, and political action.
Who has a right to life? Only one species? Do humans have the right to exterminate any species they wish? In an effort to combat climate change and the exploitation of the planet’s resources, Bolivia is becoming the first country on Earth to give comprehensive legal rights to Mother Nature. In 2010 the National Congress of Bolivia voted to support an act to protect the well-being of its citizens by protecting the natural world, its resources, sustainability, and value as essential to the common good. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill explores the language contained in the legislation and asserts that Bolivia may be inventing a social model that will show how we as a global community might transcend conflict and division toward a harmonious and sustainable future.
Everywhere you look there is a battle being waged over our energy future. Leasing plans for offshore oil have long and unsuccessfully been the target of industry groups; it has been asserted, however, that in recent months offshore exploration and development have gained public backing and may push forward. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will argue that the energy industry has transformed the American landscape and cannot be trusted with environmental stewardship of the ocean, nor should they be permitted to spoil anything more.
In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill explains the term “ecological debt” and outlines the work of the Global Footprint Network which uses the Ecological Footprint accounting tool to measure how much nature we have and how much we use. And he’ll assert that, according to the matrix, we are already in global ecological overshoot, having depleted the very resources on which human life and biodiversity depend.
The distribution of fresh water to meet growth and increased demand has historically relied on massive planning structures. The impacts of climate change (drought, fire, extreme weather) are testing these structures, exposing them to be largely inadequate for a 21st century world. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will use China as an example of a rapidly-developing country in need of an industrial water policy that realistically factors the true cost of the supply and demand of water without sacrificing the small-scale historical methods such as conservation, water recycling, and small hydro. And he will caution that large scale construction schemes that develop with no concern for environmental and social consequence will incite civic concern and unrest.
Each city lost or gained by a rival faction in the latest violence in Syria and Turkey sits on a major river—the Euphrates, the Tigris, or their tributaries. The wars waged are being fought along a watershed. In this episode of World Ocean Radio we suggest that despite air strikes, conflicting systems of law, and pursuits for oil, what really matters most is water. That it, among all other things, is what enables the true security of the region.
Cada cidade conquistada ou perdida por uma facção rival na recente onda de violência que se regista na Síria e na Turquia situa-se num grande rio: o Eufrates, o Tigre ou algum dos seus afluentes. Os combates vêm sendo travados ao longo de uma bacia hidrográfica. Neste episódio da World Ocean Radio sugerimos que, apesar dos ataques aéreos, do conflito entre sistemas legais e das pretensões petrolíferas, o que verdadeiramente importa é a água. Que a água, acima de todas as outras coisas, é aquilo que permite a verdadeira segurança na região.
In Part II of a 2-part series on the Global Water Contract, World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill explains the Committee's progressive recommendations in response to a growing fresh water crisis that is estimated to affect 3 billion people worldwide.
In 1998, a private commission was assembled to create a framework for worldwide understanding of fresh water as an inalienable human right. In this first of a two-part series on the Global Water Contract, World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill will begin to outline the basic premises and arguments laid out in the contract, a foundation on which to share the committee’s recommendations, which will appear in next week’s episode.
On September 21st, 2014, nearly 400,000 people gathered to march through the streets of New York City to express growing concern over the impacts of climate change. World Ocean Observatory's Peter Neill was there, and in this episode of World Ocean Radio he shares the exhilaration and exuberance of the march and discusses the UN Climate Summit and General Assembly which took place in the days following the People's Climate March.
Clean air is as valuable as clean water: both are essential requirements for human health and survival. Statistics and data on emissions from burning fossil fuels is not new news, and solutions thus far have not been very successful. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will suggest that air is in danger of becoming a commodified natural resource, an asset to be traded and controlled. He will argue that air, like water, must be free and available for everyone in the name of world health and security.
In 1996, the high level intergovernmental Arctic Council was formed to promote cooperation and interaction among the Arctic states. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will outline the Council’s areas of interest and will argue that The Arctic Council could, over time, serve as a progressive model by which to develop policies and management, sustainable development, and protections for other ecosystems and their inhabitants.
In November of this year Peter Neill, World Ocean Observatory director and host of World Ocean Radio, will attend the IOC Ocean Research Summit in Barcelona, Spain during which he will moderate a session entitled, “Biodiversity, conservation, and the interface with human need and greed.” In this episode of World Ocean Radio, he will describe the overall focus of the conference and will devote time to the word “greed” as it pertains to issues of ocean and climate. And he will address an often-asked question of ocean and climate conferences and summits: “How do we transform research and policy into innovation and action?”
The water cycle is a complex system of evaporation, weather, wind, deluge, and run off, with the ocean at center and as source of supply. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss the various cycles and circles on the planet that orchestrate every aspect of our lives here on Earth. And he will compare the cycles and circles of history and human kind, the rise and fall of civilizations, and the ways in which circumstances force turns and change—sometimes gradually evolving over time and others suddenly, without warning.
In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill uses lyrics composed by a 20th century musical legend to reflect upon the challenges we face in response to a planet succumbing to exhausted land, poisoned air, and polluted sea.
Mailboxes fill each day with messages from advocacy organizations with petitions promoting a variety of important causes and ideas. Certain campaigns are hugely successful thanks to the power of social media and the speed with which information travels around the globe. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss the evolution of the petition concept and outline some of the most successful international campaigns that have and are making a global difference for climate and the ocean.
Fresh water shortages are making headlines everywhere. Issues large and small are adding up to a global water crisis which threatens all of us, rich and poor, no matter where we live in the world. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will argue that the time has come for us to rethink how we manage the efficiency of our water use at all levels of society—not only by individual conservation practices but by corporate accountability, government action, and regulation.
This week marks two major milestones for World Ocean Radio. First, this episode is the 300th audio broadcast since World Ocean Radio first aired in 2009. And second, this week is the launch of an expansion of World Ocean Radio into four additional languages: French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swahili. In this episode host Peter Neill will provide six approaches that our listeners might attempt in order to help us reach a larger global audience.
In this fourth and final episode of a multi-part series on the final report released by the Global Ocean Commission, From Decline to Recovery, A Rescue Package for the Global Ocean, World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill addresses the report's concluding recommendations: Proposal 7, Global Ocean Accountability Board: Monitoring Progress toward a Healthy Ocean; and Proposal 8, Creating a High Seas Regeneration Zone.
