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December 2018

Hello PechaKuchans! 

When I was little, I loved thumbing through encyclopedias. One of my favorites, The Book of Knowledge, was my Dad's from when he was growing up. Beyond the fabulous title, it was unique in that articles were grouped by related topic rather than alphabetically by subject. It came with an index volume for those intent on finding specific information, but I preferred to meander through its pages never knowing what I might find, just as the editors intended. 

This companion bibliography to my PechaKucha talk takes inspiration from those clever, wise editors of long ago who understood the serendipity of contextual connection. It is one of the best and often delightful ways to learn about things you had no idea you wanted to know.

The organization is minimal. Beneath each blue box header are several related videos and links. You can start anywhere on the page, though it's worth scrolling and scanning first.


With a hat tip to The Book of Knowledge, it is also a bibliography full of tangents, including links about the nature of joy and others about bullying. The former is essential in order to craft the kind of messaging needed to empower people to do what seems impossible (third column). The latter is important because for the last two years we have been collectively bullied, either directly, or as frustrated bystanders. It is important to understand the dynamic so we can redirect the energy spent on self-defense and grief to do what needs to be done (first column). 

There is also a link to a 1963 television documentary about Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring. What the experts denied then has killed and maimed millions since, a cautionary tale if ever there was one (third column). 

On a cheerier note, look for the Easter egg about Sir David Attenborough and Monty Python... 


Although this bibliography may appear extensive, it is by no means definitive. Its purpose is to provide a broad overview and portals to take you down digital rabbit holes to learn more. Happy, interesting travels!

                        •••••••••••••••

We are facing a knot of knotty problems that all connect in some way to climate change. The bad news is the endless bad news. Sir David Attenborough is telling the  world straight up that civilization itself is at risk of collapse (center column), while climate-denialists in positions of power undermine treaties and roll back regulations. That is literally the definition of an existential crisis.

The good news is that there is plenty of opportunity to make a difference. Economist Kate Raworth explains how re-envisioning the economy can take us away from the climate-killing path of quarterly growth defined by GDP and onto a new path of regenerative prosperity defined by a circular economy
(third column, top).  

The better news is that we have proof that our efforts
can make a difference.

Consider: Gains in energy efficiency since the 1980s helped keep between 150 and 200 ppm of carbon out the atmosphere while pumping trillions of dollars into the US economy.

It 
also bought critical time. Without it, we would be looking at full-blown, coast-swamping, Armageddon-level climate change right now.  

Integrative design, explains Amory Lovins, co-founder and chief scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute, can significantly increase the impact of resource efficiency (center column). 

The best news is that we actually have all the technologies, methodologies, economic models and policy frameworks needed to get to the brighter, cleaner, greener, more equitable, prosperous and altogether nicer future we all had in mind before things went off the rails two years ago. 
       
               •••••••••••••


Chicago is a City of Big Shoulders, but also Big Smarts and Green Hearts. Over the last decade tremendous progress has been made toward becoming a greener, healthier city thanks to the work of a broad range of non-profits, university institutes, companies, utilities (ComEd has been shifting toward efficiency services and microgrids) and City Hall. Chicago was just named a LEED Platinum City. Both fish and people have returned to the River. 

It is going to take much more work, made that much harder by all the new federal  headwinds, to bake in enough goodness to make sure the next generation has a fighting chance in a fast-warming world. It isn't only about climate. According to a new WWF report, wildlife populations have been reduced by more than half over the last 50 years and the grim march toward mass extinction is accelerating
(third column).

​At the same time, soil degradation has led to dire predictions of only 60 harvests left (middle column). Regenerative agriculture can turn that around while also absorbing atmospheric carbon, so there's hope for, as Lovins puts it, "applied hope." 


"Applied hope is not about some vague, far-off future but is expressed and created moment by moment through our choices."
                 
The clock is ticking. We have a decade to make a difference, which in a perverse way is kind of exciting. We can save civilization. It doesn't get more dramatic than that. 

"Make no little plans," said Daniel Burnham. It turns out that's even easier to do when there's nothing to lose and everything to gain. 
There is joy in thinking big, of defying the odds, the tweets, the lies. Of doing the right thing.
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  • RMI Innovation Center (website)
  • PHIUS | Passive House (website)

  • The Living Building Challenge (website) 

  • USGBC | LEED (website) 
  • Chicago Becomes LEED-Certified for Green Building Initiatives (WTTW)
  • Greenbuild conference (website)

  • C40 Cities (website) 
  • Life after carbon: The next global transformation of cities (ENH)

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  • #FamilesBelongTogether  (J.A. Ginsburg  & Stuart J. Murphy, vizlearning)
  • Early evidence of a ‘Trump effect’ on bullying in schools (Hechinger Report)
  • Social and Emotional Learning and Bullying Prevention (CASEL - website) 
  • I See I Learn books (website) 
  • MathStart books (website) ​
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  • UN IPCC Special Report: "Global Warming of 1.5°C" (website / pdf)
  • Report: we have just 12 years to limit devastating global warming (Vox)
  • US and Russia ally with Saudi Arabia to water down climate pledge (The Guardian)

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  • Fourth National Climate Assessment (website / pdf)
  • Chapter 21: The Midwest (website / pdf)
  • U.S. Climate Report Warns of Damaged Environment and Shrinking Economy (New York Times)
  • A Grave Climate Warning, Buried on Black Friday (The Atlantic)
  • The Clean Power Plan: Still A Good Idea (via better - video)

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  • Reinventing Climate Finance (website / pdf)
  • UN Secretary-General Taps UN Special Envoy Michael R. Bloomberg to Lead Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (Bloomberg Philanthropies press release)

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  • David Attenborough: collapse of civilisation is on the horizon (Guardian)​
  • ​Trump administration resists global climate efforts at home and overseas (Washington Post) 
  • Jared Diamond: Why Societies Collapse (TED, video) 
  • Nine astonishing ways David Attenborough shaped your world (BBC)

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  • Will Steffen, Climate Change Institute, Australian National University (website) 
  • Will Steffen bio (Wikipedia) 

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  • Amory Lovins, "How big is the energy efficiency resource? (IOP Science, research paper) 
  • Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken (Amory Lovins, Friends of the Earth, 1977)
  • Amory Lovins, bio (RMI website)
  • Rocky Mountain Institute (website)

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  • Soil Health Institute (website)​
  • Only 60 Years of Farming Left If Soil Degradation Continues (Reuters / Scientific American)
  • The Carbon Underground (website)
  • Vanishing Nutrients (Scientific American)

  • Dig2Grow | David Montgomery & Anne Bikle (website) 
  • David Montgomery, "Growing a Revolution" interview (Worldview / WBEZ)​
  • Lessons of the Lamp Post Garden: How a Healthy Soil Microbiome Can Slow Climate Change, Fix Agriculture & Make Just About Everything Better (J. A. Ginsburg / Medium)

  • Paul Stamets bio (website) 
  • Fungi Perfecti (website)
  • Six Part Lecture at Chicago Botanic Garden (blog post with video embeds) 
  • A Mushroom Extract Might Save Bees from a Killer Virus (Wired)​

  • Judith Schwartz, "Water in Plain Sight"  (website)
  • Trump's Attack on the Clean Water Act Will Fuel Destructive Pipeline Boom (The Intercept)

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  • Delta Institute (website)
  • Illinois Green Alliance (website)
  • Environmental Law & Policy Center (website) 
  • NRDC - Midwest (website) 
  • Passive House Alliance Chicago Meetup (registration required)
  • Tierra Linda - affordable passive house near the 606 (website) 
  • Elevate Energy (website) 
  • Rebuilding Exchange (website)​​
  • AIA - Chicago (website)
  • Clean Energy Trust (website) 
  • City of Chicago Energy Rating System (website) 
  • Friends of the Chicago River (website)
  • Alliance for the Great Lakes (website)
  • Blacks in Green (facebook page)​
  • The Chicago Community Trust (website)​
  • ISEN - Institute for Sustainability & Energy,  Northwestern University (website)
  • EPIC - Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (website) 
  • Institute for Environmental Science & Policy at UIC (website) 
  • Institute for Environmental Sustainability at Loyola University (website) 
  • Microgrid at IIT (website) ​
  • ComEd Approved to Build One of First Microgrid Clusters in the Nation (BusinessWire)
  • Peterson Garden Project (website)​
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  • Kate Raworth, "Doughnut Economics" (website) 
  • The Investor Seth Klarman, in a Rare Interview, Offers a Warning. Davos Should Listen (New Yorker)
  • BlackRock's Larry Fink Tells CEOs to Pursue Purpose Along With Profits (Bloomberg)

  • The Ellen MacArthur Foundation | Circular Economy (website)
  • Disruptive Innovation Festival (website)

  • Mariana Mazzucato, "The Value of Everything" (website) 

  • The Game-Changing Promise of a Green New Deal (Naomi Klein, The Intercept)​
  • ​The Leap (website)
  • Naomi Klein (website) 
  • ​Green New Deal: Something Old, Something New (Grist)
  • ​​How Would A Green New Deal Work? (Science Friday interview with Thomas Friedman - audio & transcript) 

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  • Hunter Lovins, "A Finer Future" interview (The Impact Report / podcast)​
  • Natural Capitalism Solutions (website)

  • Creating a Bio-Industrial Revolution (TED video)
  • Biomimicry Institute (website)

  • Ray Anderson, Founder & CEO, Interface, bio (Wikipedia)
  • Interface Carpet | Climate Take Back Program (website) 
  • "The Ray: Can One Highway Drive the Future?" (Verge/Greenbiz, video)​

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  • A Creative Brief: How Designers & Branding Experts Can Help Save Us All (Really, Truly) (J. A. Ginsburg / Medium)
  • ​Less is More, More, More: The Cascading, Collective, Compounding, Sheer Utter Coolness of Efficiency (J.A. Ginsburg / "What's the Future?"/  Medium)
  • Coal, Nukes & National Insecurity… (J.A. Ginsburg / Medium)
  • The People’s EPA: Some Thoughts (J.A. Ginsburg / Medium)
  • The High Cost Of Weaponized Weather & What We Can Do About It... (J.A. Ginsburg, better)​

  • Ingrid Fetell Lee: "Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things To Create Extraordinary Happiness" (book)
  • The Aesthetics of Joy (website) 
  • On Creating Joy: A Conversation with Ingrid Fetell Lee & Debbie Millman (Chicago Ideas Week - video) ​
  • Applied Hope (Amory Lovins, Medium)

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  • Donella Meadows Lecture, "Sustainable Systems, part 2 (video)
  • Donella Meadows Lecture, "Sustainable Systems, part 3 (video) 
  • Donella Meadows Lecture, "Sustainable Systems, part 4 (video) 
  • "The Limits to Growth" by Meadows, Meadows, Randers & Behrens, The Club of Rome, 1972 (book | pdf) ​

  • A Dust Bowl chicken coop became Aldo Leopold's beloved house (video)
  • Aldo Leopold, "A Sand County Almanac" (book)
  • Nina Leopold Bradley (video)
  • The Aldo Leopold Foundation (website)

  • Rachel Carson (website)
  • A running list of how President Trump is changing environmental policy (National Geographic)
  • The Insect Apocalypse Is Here: What Does it Mean for the Rest of Life on Earth? (New York Times)

  • Living Planet Report (WWF - website)
  • Humanity has wiped out 60% of animal populations since 1970, report finds (The Guardian)

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​MEDIA
  • Greenbiz (go to news source / resource all things green business - website) 
  • gb&d—green building & design magazine (based in Chicago! - website)

MATERIALS
  • New Light Technologies (produces and licenses technology for bioplastics made of methane or "air carbon" - website)
  • Mark Herrema, CEO New Light Technologies(podcast)
  • Lanzatech (produces plastic from CO2 harvested from smokestack emissions - company based in Skokie! - website)  
  • ecovative (develops, sells and licenses mycelial based materials for packaging, construction and fashion - website)
 
FINANCE
  • Nori (a potentially better, blockchain-based carbon trading platform set to launch in 2019 - website) 

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