Hello Readers,
I have been fairly busy the past couple of months, and so my posts have obviously been lacking. However, today I watched a TED Talk that blew my mind!
If you are interested in climate change, food justice, land management, livestock issues, and/or any number of other sustainability topics, this TED Talk is a must watch! Allan Savory, explains how to repair desertified regions in a manner that is counter-intuitive and frankly surprising.
For more information, you can also visit the TED website for a bio of Mr. Savory or the Savory Institute website.
Cheers,
Sean
Showing posts with label TED Talk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TED Talk. Show all posts
Monday, March 11, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Climate Change: How we can act!
Hello Readers,
I have found a TED Talk with a very important message for the Warmest Generation... How do we work together to solve the issues in front of us?
Let's give it a try!
Cheers,
Sean
I have found a TED Talk with a very important message for the Warmest Generation... How do we work together to solve the issues in front of us?
Let's give it a try!
Cheers,
Sean
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Climate Change: Why we must act!
Hello Readers,
This week I'm going to post two TED Talks for the Warmest Generation. This first video is by James Hansen, and it describes why we must act on the threat of climate change! (Warning: The first half of this video provides some potentially depressing information if you are new to the climate change debate.)
Check back soon for information about how we might just be able to initiate some real action!
Cheers,
Sean
This week I'm going to post two TED Talks for the Warmest Generation. This first video is by James Hansen, and it describes why we must act on the threat of climate change! (Warning: The first half of this video provides some potentially depressing information if you are new to the climate change debate.)
Check back soon for information about how we might just be able to initiate some real action!
Cheers,
Sean
Monday, November 12, 2012
The Challenge of Returning Veterans
Hello Readers,
I found a very interesting TED talk, which seems especially appropriate on this (observed) Veteran's Day.
As the speaker suggests, a program or organization like this might be a crucial step in helping veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to re-integrate themselves into society. Also, it could be an intelligent model for implementing a climate change adaptation policy or program, and I would suggest that it might not necessarily need to be limited to post-disaster relief. It could also be extended to include pre-disaster preparations and overall disaster mitigation strategies.
Respectfully,
Sean
I found a very interesting TED talk, which seems especially appropriate on this (observed) Veteran's Day.
As the speaker suggests, a program or organization like this might be a crucial step in helping veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to re-integrate themselves into society. Also, it could be an intelligent model for implementing a climate change adaptation policy or program, and I would suggest that it might not necessarily need to be limited to post-disaster relief. It could also be extended to include pre-disaster preparations and overall disaster mitigation strategies.
Respectfully,
Sean
Thursday, November 8, 2012
TED Talk - smart building materials
Hello Readers,
I thought you might enjoy watching this TED Talk about smart building materials, which provide passive air conditioning (reducing energy consumption).
Cheers,
Sean
I thought you might enjoy watching this TED Talk about smart building materials, which provide passive air conditioning (reducing energy consumption).
Cheers,
Sean
Friday, August 10, 2012
Gardening in Towns
Hello Readers,
I thought I would follow up the Gardening in Schools TED Talk post from Monday with a TED Talk from Pam Warhurst about turning towns into edible public spaces.
Please enjoy,
Sean
I thought I would follow up the Gardening in Schools TED Talk post from Monday with a TED Talk from Pam Warhurst about turning towns into edible public spaces.
Please enjoy,
Sean
Monday, August 6, 2012
Gardening in Schools
Hello Readers,
Here is a great TED Talk about combining schools with green urban agriculture.
Enjoy,
Sean
Here is a great TED Talk about combining schools with green urban agriculture.
Enjoy,
Sean
Monday, July 9, 2012
The Internet and Institutionality, an Afterword on Global Sustainability
Hello Readers,
In the middle of June, I started to put together the series that I entitled Global Sustainability, which has been auto-posting over the past couple of weeks. As the series continued to post, I continued to think about the ideas that I put down on paper (and then on screen).
I especially began to consider the parameters of my thesis, particularly the role of the internet and the definition of society. Briefly, I would like to mention that I intentionally left the definition of society open-ended; however, I would like to note that I meant for the survival of society to include the existence of the human species (and/or whatever permutations may evolve therefrom) and also the continued development of a vibrant culture (the stuff that makes life worth living), which is what I occasionally referred to vaguely as 'succeeding' rather than just merely surviving.
In a physical sense, society now covers virtually all of the globe, which I considered an important indication of the need for a new Institution (or at least a re-thinking of our older Institutions). With regard to the Warmest Generation, this means not only stepping outside of the Cold War Era paradigm of our parents and grandparents, but perhaps even stepping outside of the paradigm of the era of recorded history thus far.
In the Global Sustainability series I mentioned, but did not fully explore, the role of the internet in relation to society and Institutionality. While some aspect or function of the internet may very well serve as the basis for a new Institution, as I suggested, I did not consider the internet as a new space in its own right. Rather than looking to the internet in its Institutional capacity, I want to consider it as a new continent.
In much the same way that Europeans (however wrong they were) considered the Americas an open space upon which they could find resources and spread their culture, let us conceptualize the internet as an open space. However, unlike colonial Europeans, we do not need to displace previous inhabitants to utilize the resources of the internet continent. Also, unlike the Americas as a static physical space, the internet is a flexible space, which can be continually stretched and remolded by its inhabitants, overlaying the physical space of the globe - decreasing the relative density of our global society and thereby alleviating the societal pressure on our current Institutions.
Indeed, in this sense internet is more than a metaphorical continent, the internet is more of an artificial dimension. Just like navigating a hedge maze in three dimensions rather than two dimensions (e.g. jumping over a bush when you reach a dead-end), society may be able to use the internet as an extra dimension through which issues may be viewed and addressed.
In a manner of speaking, the internet has opened up a mental dimension coiled within the fabric of the physical dimensions in which we live. Or rather, the mental dimension has always been coiled within the physical world; that is, a person's own consciousness is a single point within the mental dimension. However, now the internet has lifted some of the constraints on our ability to navigate the mental dimension, allowing each of us to share the thoughts of others as we address issues. In a way, books and other means of sharing information are other ways to lift these constraints by allowing us to access past thoughts while attempting to solve current problems. Of course, the internet allows us as a society to utilize this same process in nearly real-time, and it further allows us to provide feedback in the mental dimension rather than just passively digesting information in the way reading a book does.
As I am sure that there are many others have already contemplated the internet as instrument of human murmuration (see the TED talk above), let me expand upon this idea as it relates to Institutionality and the sustainability of our global society.
In particular, it is important to note the implications of the mental dimension being coiled within the physical dimensions. The internet is based in the real world and not the other way around. While the internet may be used to decrease the relative population density of society, it does not affect the absolute population density of our global society. Therefore, escaping into the mental dimension via the internet is not a viable means of promoting societal survival - despite any sci-fi ambitions of downloadable consciousness and the like. At some point, internet or no internet, society will need to confront the limits of the physical world and its resources.
That being said, the expanded access to the mental dimension via the internet may be the key to addressing the Economic Disconnect: taking the Institutional role beyond the Governmental approach of addressing purposeful, direct ways of killing each other and beginning to address the indirect, unintentional ways of killing each other (e.g. pollution, waste, and climate change). While as individuals an important part of living life involves accepting our own mortality at some point, this need not necessarily be the case for society as a whole, and the 'culture' that makes society great. It may very well be that we can allow culture and society to continue to grow and thrive ad infinitum in the mental dimension, so long as we can avoid killing ourselves off unintentionally in the physical dimensions.
Thus, even as the internet infrastructure continues to change and adapt, or is even abandoned in the far off future, I believe that any new Institution needs to make use of - or at least acknowledge the utility of - the mental dimension in real-time. To go back to relying primarily upon uni-directional exchanges of information and problem solving (e.g. top-down (Governmental), bottom-up (Economic), or past-to-present (books)) would severely limit our society's ability to thrive in the face of global challenges.
Sincerely,
Sean Diamond
P.S. If you have been confused by my capitalization of words like Institution (or my lack of capitalization of the word (i)nternet to avoid confusion), I encourage you to review the post Institutionality.
For you convenience, here is the Table of Contents to the full Global Sustainability series:
In the middle of June, I started to put together the series that I entitled Global Sustainability, which has been auto-posting over the past couple of weeks. As the series continued to post, I continued to think about the ideas that I put down on paper (and then on screen).
I especially began to consider the parameters of my thesis, particularly the role of the internet and the definition of society. Briefly, I would like to mention that I intentionally left the definition of society open-ended; however, I would like to note that I meant for the survival of society to include the existence of the human species (and/or whatever permutations may evolve therefrom) and also the continued development of a vibrant culture (the stuff that makes life worth living), which is what I occasionally referred to vaguely as 'succeeding' rather than just merely surviving.
In a physical sense, society now covers virtually all of the globe, which I considered an important indication of the need for a new Institution (or at least a re-thinking of our older Institutions). With regard to the Warmest Generation, this means not only stepping outside of the Cold War Era paradigm of our parents and grandparents, but perhaps even stepping outside of the paradigm of the era of recorded history thus far.
In the Global Sustainability series I mentioned, but did not fully explore, the role of the internet in relation to society and Institutionality. While some aspect or function of the internet may very well serve as the basis for a new Institution, as I suggested, I did not consider the internet as a new space in its own right. Rather than looking to the internet in its Institutional capacity, I want to consider it as a new continent.
In much the same way that Europeans (however wrong they were) considered the Americas an open space upon which they could find resources and spread their culture, let us conceptualize the internet as an open space. However, unlike colonial Europeans, we do not need to displace previous inhabitants to utilize the resources of the internet continent. Also, unlike the Americas as a static physical space, the internet is a flexible space, which can be continually stretched and remolded by its inhabitants, overlaying the physical space of the globe - decreasing the relative density of our global society and thereby alleviating the societal pressure on our current Institutions.
Indeed, in this sense internet is more than a metaphorical continent, the internet is more of an artificial dimension. Just like navigating a hedge maze in three dimensions rather than two dimensions (e.g. jumping over a bush when you reach a dead-end), society may be able to use the internet as an extra dimension through which issues may be viewed and addressed.
In a manner of speaking, the internet has opened up a mental dimension coiled within the fabric of the physical dimensions in which we live. Or rather, the mental dimension has always been coiled within the physical world; that is, a person's own consciousness is a single point within the mental dimension. However, now the internet has lifted some of the constraints on our ability to navigate the mental dimension, allowing each of us to share the thoughts of others as we address issues. In a way, books and other means of sharing information are other ways to lift these constraints by allowing us to access past thoughts while attempting to solve current problems. Of course, the internet allows us as a society to utilize this same process in nearly real-time, and it further allows us to provide feedback in the mental dimension rather than just passively digesting information in the way reading a book does.
As I am sure that there are many others have already contemplated the internet as instrument of human murmuration (see the TED talk above), let me expand upon this idea as it relates to Institutionality and the sustainability of our global society.
In particular, it is important to note the implications of the mental dimension being coiled within the physical dimensions. The internet is based in the real world and not the other way around. While the internet may be used to decrease the relative population density of society, it does not affect the absolute population density of our global society. Therefore, escaping into the mental dimension via the internet is not a viable means of promoting societal survival - despite any sci-fi ambitions of downloadable consciousness and the like. At some point, internet or no internet, society will need to confront the limits of the physical world and its resources.
That being said, the expanded access to the mental dimension via the internet may be the key to addressing the Economic Disconnect: taking the Institutional role beyond the Governmental approach of addressing purposeful, direct ways of killing each other and beginning to address the indirect, unintentional ways of killing each other (e.g. pollution, waste, and climate change). While as individuals an important part of living life involves accepting our own mortality at some point, this need not necessarily be the case for society as a whole, and the 'culture' that makes society great. It may very well be that we can allow culture and society to continue to grow and thrive ad infinitum in the mental dimension, so long as we can avoid killing ourselves off unintentionally in the physical dimensions.
Thus, even as the internet infrastructure continues to change and adapt, or is even abandoned in the far off future, I believe that any new Institution needs to make use of - or at least acknowledge the utility of - the mental dimension in real-time. To go back to relying primarily upon uni-directional exchanges of information and problem solving (e.g. top-down (Governmental), bottom-up (Economic), or past-to-present (books)) would severely limit our society's ability to thrive in the face of global challenges.
Sincerely,
Sean Diamond
P.S. If you have been confused by my capitalization of words like Institution (or my lack of capitalization of the word (i)nternet to avoid confusion), I encourage you to review the post Institutionality.
For you convenience, here is the Table of Contents to the full Global Sustainability series:
- Introduction <---Posted 6/25/2012
- Societal Survival <---Posted 6/27/2012
- Institutionality <---Posted 6/29/2012
- Democratic Necessity <---Posted 7/2/2012
- Economic Disconnect <---Posted 7/4/2012
- (In)Conclusion <---Posted 7/6/2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
What happens if we are not the Warmest Generation?
Hello Readers,
I have just finished writing a series of Warmest Generation related blog posts entitled Global Sustainability, which are scheduled to start automatically posting next week. In the meantime, I want to point you to a very concise TED Talk about what it will mean for society if we do not ensure that those of us born in the '80s and '90s are indeed the Warmest Generation.
While you are watching this video, please heed the recommendation of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Don't Panic.
Sincerely,
Sean Diamond
I have just finished writing a series of Warmest Generation related blog posts entitled Global Sustainability, which are scheduled to start automatically posting next week. In the meantime, I want to point you to a very concise TED Talk about what it will mean for society if we do not ensure that those of us born in the '80s and '90s are indeed the Warmest Generation.
While you are watching this video, please heed the recommendation of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Don't Panic.
Sincerely,
Sean Diamond
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Weekday Veg TED Talk
Hello Readers,
Here is a good TED talk by Graham Hill, the founder of Treehugger.com, about reducing your consumption of meat by being a vegetarian on weekdays.
I found it interesting, because it reflects an experience that is very similar to my own attempt to be a vegetarian. At the beginning of the year, I started off by trying to dive in and become a complete vegetarian, "cold tofu" if you will. However, by about the end of February, my desire of a good cheese steak or a bacon cheese burger was gnawing on my taste buds. As a result, by April I had already 'slipped up' a couple of times. However, in the mean time I had otherwise maintained a healthy, mostly-fresh-food based vegetarian diet. Rather than feeling guilty about the few times that I really wanted some meat, I decided it would be more environmentally-friendly, healthier, and more personally sustainable to only eat meat roughly one day per month rather than giving up on trying to be a vegetarian all together.
So if you have tried to be a vegetarian or are thinking about making the jump, I strongly encourage you to watch this TED talk about Weekday Veg.
Plant-ly,
Sean
Here is a good TED talk by Graham Hill, the founder of Treehugger.com, about reducing your consumption of meat by being a vegetarian on weekdays.
I found it interesting, because it reflects an experience that is very similar to my own attempt to be a vegetarian. At the beginning of the year, I started off by trying to dive in and become a complete vegetarian, "cold tofu" if you will. However, by about the end of February, my desire of a good cheese steak or a bacon cheese burger was gnawing on my taste buds. As a result, by April I had already 'slipped up' a couple of times. However, in the mean time I had otherwise maintained a healthy, mostly-fresh-food based vegetarian diet. Rather than feeling guilty about the few times that I really wanted some meat, I decided it would be more environmentally-friendly, healthier, and more personally sustainable to only eat meat roughly one day per month rather than giving up on trying to be a vegetarian all together.
So if you have tried to be a vegetarian or are thinking about making the jump, I strongly encourage you to watch this TED talk about Weekday Veg.
Plant-ly,
Sean
Saturday, May 12, 2012
The Earth is Full TED Talk
Hello Readers,
I found a new TED talk that I believe represents an appropriate call to action for the Warmest Generation.
Please enjoy the talk, but do not stop part way through. The inspiring part is towards the end.
Cheers,
Sean Diamond
I found a new TED talk that I believe represents an appropriate call to action for the Warmest Generation.
Please enjoy the talk, but do not stop part way through. The inspiring part is towards the end.
Cheers,
Sean Diamond
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Energy Future TED Talk
Hello Readers,
This is potentially the most important and informative TED Talk you will see this decade. The speaker is the head of the Rocky Mountain Institute.
Please watch this.
Thanks,
Sean
This is potentially the most important and informative TED Talk you will see this decade. The speaker is the head of the Rocky Mountain Institute.
Please watch this.
Thanks,
Sean
Monday, April 9, 2012
Energy Storage TED Talk
Hello Readers,
If you have been following my blog, you may remember that I wrote my graduate dissertation on the GHG emissions impact of adding energy storage technology to the electric utility grid. Of course, at the time I wrote it, there were only a few energy storage technologies that were close to meeting the technological and economic thresholds that would be practical in the real world. Instead, I had to do my calculations on the premise that those thresholds could be reached.
Thus, I was ecstatic to discover a TED Talk by Donald Sadoway, a professor at MIT, about a technological breakthrough in utility-scale energy storage. Please enjoy the TED Talk below.
Cheers,
Sean
If you have been following my blog, you may remember that I wrote my graduate dissertation on the GHG emissions impact of adding energy storage technology to the electric utility grid. Of course, at the time I wrote it, there were only a few energy storage technologies that were close to meeting the technological and economic thresholds that would be practical in the real world. Instead, I had to do my calculations on the premise that those thresholds could be reached.
Thus, I was ecstatic to discover a TED Talk by Donald Sadoway, a professor at MIT, about a technological breakthrough in utility-scale energy storage. Please enjoy the TED Talk below.
Cheers,
Sean
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Natural Gas TED Talk
Hello Readers,
I encourage you to check out T. Boone Pickens' TED Talk on conversion to natural gas. He offers some excellent facts, talking points, and arguments for the use of natural gas (at least as a bridge fuel... and possibly more).
Of course, he does not mention energy storage technology as a solution to intermittent renewable energy, but you can read more about energy storage in my dissertation.
Enjoy,
Sean
I encourage you to check out T. Boone Pickens' TED Talk on conversion to natural gas. He offers some excellent facts, talking points, and arguments for the use of natural gas (at least as a bridge fuel... and possibly more).
Of course, he does not mention energy storage technology as a solution to intermittent renewable energy, but you can read more about energy storage in my dissertation.
Enjoy,
Sean
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Apartment Gardening
Hello Readers (or in this case Watchers),
Please enjoy this TED talk about apartment gardening.
Sustainably yours,
Sean Diamond
Please enjoy this TED talk about apartment gardening.
Sustainably yours,
Sean Diamond
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Bill Ford's TED Talk
Hello Readers,
I thought you might find this interesting. Bill Ford (of Ford Motor Company) has given an interesting TED Talk. It discusses potential efficiency gains in driving and transportation technology. It also offers an interesting look into the thoughts of an automotive industry leader. He even briefly references Ford's upcoming release of an all electric vehicle (the electric Ford Focus).
I would be curious to see what you think of his suggestions. While he does focus a lot on car-based advances, I am a little surprised to here him advocating for public transportation. Just imagine that suggestion from an auto executive 10 or 20 years ago.
Happy Summer,
Sean Diamond
I thought you might find this interesting. Bill Ford (of Ford Motor Company) has given an interesting TED Talk. It discusses potential efficiency gains in driving and transportation technology. It also offers an interesting look into the thoughts of an automotive industry leader. He even briefly references Ford's upcoming release of an all electric vehicle (the electric Ford Focus).
I would be curious to see what you think of his suggestions. While he does focus a lot on car-based advances, I am a little surprised to here him advocating for public transportation. Just imagine that suggestion from an auto executive 10 or 20 years ago.
Happy Summer,
Sean Diamond
Monday, June 6, 2011
Collaborative Consumption
Hello Readers,
This week I plan to respond to the comments about the proposal I made regarding social security reform. I received several on Facebook and one on the blog so far. If you have any that you haven't sent my way, please hurry.
In the meantime, I stumbled across an excellent TED talk from last year that puts a new spin on the concept of sustainable consumption: "Collaborative Consumption"...
Enjoy:
This week I plan to respond to the comments about the proposal I made regarding social security reform. I received several on Facebook and one on the blog so far. If you have any that you haven't sent my way, please hurry.
In the meantime, I stumbled across an excellent TED talk from last year that puts a new spin on the concept of sustainable consumption: "Collaborative Consumption"...
Enjoy:
Friday, May 6, 2011
Hello Readers,
When I saw this new TED talk about literally growing batteries, I knew I had to share it. This is especially relevant to our ability to manufacture batteries and other energy storage systems (as discussed in my dissertation).
Please enjoy!
~Sean
When I saw this new TED talk about literally growing batteries, I knew I had to share it. This is especially relevant to our ability to manufacture batteries and other energy storage systems (as discussed in my dissertation).
Please enjoy!
~Sean
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Rob Hopkins TED Talk
Hello Readers,
After my last post, I stumbled upon this video. For those of you unfamiliar with the idea of the Transition Movement, this should fill you in!
Thanks,
Sean Diamond
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