{"id":6808,"date":"2016-11-03T07:57:05","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T07:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/?p=6808"},"modified":"2016-11-03T07:57:05","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T07:57:05","slug":"good-news-for-environmental-educators-well-sort-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/2016\/11\/03\/good-news-for-environmental-educators-well-sort-of\/","title":{"rendered":"Good news for environmental educators \u2013 well, sort of"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Guardian had a piece<\/a> last week on extinctions. \u00a0Its headline was:<\/p>\n

World on track to lose two-thirds of wild animals by 2020, major report warns<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This reports on the publication of\u00a0the\u00a0Living Planet Index<\/a> which \"shows that vertebrate populations are set to decline\u00a0by 67% (from\u00a01970 levels) unless urgent action is taken to reduce our planetary\u00a0impact\". \u00a0Here's the report summary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The report starts:<\/p>\n

\"Global biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, putting the survival of other species and our own future at risk. \u00a0The latest edition of WWF\u2019s Living Planet Report brings home the enormity of the situation \u2013 and how we can start to put it right. \u00a0The Living Planet Index reveals that global populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles declined by 58 per cent between 1970 and 2012. \u00a0We could witness a two-thirds decline in the half-century from 1970 to 2020 \u2013 unless we act now to reform our food and energy systems and meet global commitments on addressing climate change, protecting biodiversity and supporting sustainable development.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that whilst the report carefully says:\u00a0\"We could witness a two-thirds decline<\/em> ...\", the Guardian writes: \"populations\u00a0are set to decline by 67%<\/em>\" \u00a0\"set to\" is not the same as \"could\". \u00a0Is this just poor language skills, or was it deliberate do you suppose?<\/p>\n

Overall, I'd say that although there is much gloom, there's\u00a0not as much as the Guardian would have us believe. \u00a0The summary report ends:<\/p>\n

\"The facts and figures in the Living Planet Report tend to paint a challenging picture, yet there is still plenty of room for optimism. \u00a0If we manage to undergo the critical transitions necessary, the reward will be immense. \u00a0Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch. \u00a0There are several countries that have managed to raise\u00a0the standards of living for their populations while using resources\u00a0at much less intensity than industrial countries. \u00a0Furthermore, the world is reaching a solid consensus regarding the direction we\u00a0must take. \u00a0In 2015, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted. \u00a0And at the Paris climate conference (COP21) in December 2015, 195 countries adopted a global agreement to combat climate change, and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low-carbon future. \u00a0Finally, we have never before had such an understanding of the scale of our impact on the planet, the way the key environmental systems interact or the way in which we can manage them.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, addressing social inequality and environmental degradation will require a global paradigm shift toward living within Planetary Boundaries. \u00a0We must create a new economic system that enhances and supports the natural capital upon which it relies.<\/p>\n

The speed at which we transition to a sustainable society is a key factor for determining our future. \u00a0Allowing and fostering important innovations and enabling them to undergo rapid adoption in a wider arena is critical. \u00a0Sustainability and resilience will be achieved much faster if the majority of the Earth\u2019s population understand the value and needs of our increasingly fragile Earth. \u00a0A shared understanding of the link between humanity and nature could induce a profound change that will allow all life to thrive in the Anthropocene.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The last paragraph is good news for environmental educators. \u00a0We are still needed! \u00a0Mind you, we said that in the 1960s, ...<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Guardian had a piece last week on extinctions. \u00a0Its headline was: World on track to lose two-thirds of wild animals by 2020, major report warns This reports on the publication of\u00a0the\u00a0Living Planet Index which \"shows that vertebrate populations are...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comment","category-news-and-updates"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/237"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6808\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}