Think Global Think Green

   The NASA Earth systems science initiative just entered its 20th year, and to mark the occasion, NASA held a symposium at the National Academy of Science to review some of the scientific accomplishments made possible through the endeavor. Over the course of the three day symposium, scientists presented their research and discussed the impact of the NASA earth systems science initiative on the current understanding for a wide range of social, scientific and economic issues.

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One of the major hurdles to implementing international environmental sustainability objectives is securing local connectivity to, and action for, a global cause. Local communities can struggle in job training, information services support, appropriate policy and legal framework creation, and resource allocation necessary for achieving these goals. Unsurprisingly, this is more likely to occur in developing countries where initiatives are often stumped by spending capabilities and financial allocations.

What may be the largest barrier to connecting communities to international environmental sustainability objectives is cultural integration. Already environmental sustainability is influencing our cultural lifestyle choices, from the food we eat to the way we travel. However, to what extent is it impacting how we are entertained?

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The islands of Mauritius and Réunion contain endemic species found nowhere else in the world that are plagued by massive population decline. Before the 1500s, these islands were uninhabited by humans. Soon after the arrival of the first explorers, Dutch settlement and the introduction of non-native plant and animal species, biodiversity loss mushroomed (WRI 1989). Since the over 400 years following the first alterations in the islands' ecosystems, populations of native birds, reptiles, and trees have been driven to extinction.

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The first evacuation of an entire people on environmental grounds has now begun in the South Pacific. Persistent flooding is causing the submergence of the Carteret Islands, a low lying atoll in Papua New Guinea, where the saltwater intrusion is also contaminating the islands freshwater supply and preventing the growth of crops. Despite attempts at battling the floods, including building a seawall and planting mangroves, the islands were declared uninhabitable by the government in 2005 and expected to be completely submerged by 2015. Now, the first few families have been relocated to Bougainville on the mainland as part of the initial stage of the evacuation process causing the Carteret Islanders to be labeled as the world's first environmental refugees.

This forced resettlement of a whole population draws attention to the inescapable reality of environmental displacement, an occurrence which will only become more commonplace as the impacts of climate change are felt around the world.

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In March 2007, Earth Trends published a monthly update focusing on the uncertainty of the global biofuel industry. Since this publication, world fuel ethanol production has increased from 12 billion gallons in 2005 to an estimated 17 billion gallons in 2008. One of the key factors behind this rapid increase in production is the growth of the transportation sector. Global motor gas consumption increased by 21 percent throughout the world between 1990 and 2003. The four most prominent boosts occurred in the U.S., China, Japan, and Iran as shown in Figure 1.

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