WATER/ENERGY: Deep Seabed Mining

Posted on July 10, 2024July 11, 2024 by Building The World

The deep seabed is home to marine life, but also contains minerals now subject to mining. Image: “Marine Life” by Jerred Seveyka, Yakima Valley College, 2020. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) finance committee begins this week to build upon legal and technical committee recommendations regarding whether to allow robotic bulldozers to rip up the deep seabed in search of minerals and metals to power renewable energy needed to stop climate change.

**There is still time to stop seabed mining before it starts.** Image: “Animated Clock” by Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. Animators Kunal Sen & Tisha Pillal. Creative Commons 4.0.

It is more than ironic to mine the deep seabed to stop climate change. It could be irreparably tragic. But there is still time.

World Bank and International Energy Agency estimate a 500% increase in demand for battery metals and minerals like cobalt by 2050. Now, cobalt is mined on land, with some concerns about environmental damage. Is deep seabed better? Do we really need to deploy explosives and bulldozers to blast open seamounts and crusts for cobalt, manganese, nickel, titanium? Not only will such invasive actions damage the direct area, but ocean currents certainly will carry the effects further.

Clarion-Clipperton Zone, between Hawaii and Mexico, contains more minerals than all the land-based supply. But should we mine the deep seabed? Image: “Clarion-Clipperton Zone” by NOAA, 2011. Public Domain.

The deep seabed’s seamounts and crusts – the same environments where minerals are formed – are habitats of corals, crabs, fish, sea stars, and marine seagrasses of more than 70 species. Recently, the UK’s National Oceanography Centre’s Seabed Mining and Resilience To Experimental Impact (SMARTEX) explored the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) between Hawaii and Mexico, finding new lifeforms including a sponge with the longest-known lifespan on Earth – 15,000 years. The CCZ is home to vast marine life, including 5,578 species – 88% of which are newly discovered and not even named. The CCZ’s polymetallic nodules contain more key metals than the entire world’s land-based reserves, making it prime prospecting territory. But is it necessary? Do we really need deep seabed mining for minerals like cobalt?

Cobalt mined in Schneeberg, Saxony, Germany. Image by photographer Privoksalnaja, 2013. Public Domain.

Cobalt is recyclable and reusable. So is nickel. Companies and governments that use such minerals find it easier to obtain “virgin” mineral resources than to engage in recycling. European Commission currently proposes negating Directive 2006/66/EC and upgrading Regulation (EU) No 2019/1020 to require more recycling. Cobalt and copper are largely recycled but most minerals and metals have recycling rates under 34%; some just 1%.

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) issues and approves contracts for exploration of the deep seabed beyond national territories. ISA has the power to grant exploitation – mining. Recent actions by member nation Nauru triggered an acceleration that may lead to exploitation contracts as soon as this summer. Right now, ISA’s future leadership is about to be decided in a coming election. It is a critical time. The marine environment needs your support now.

**Marine life needs your support. ISA is about to decide the future. Express your opinion while there is still time.** Image: “Aluterus scriptus” by photographer Peter Cremer, 2011. Creative Commons 4.0.

Like outer space, the deep seabed belongs to everyone on Earth. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone (outside of national jurisdiction of coastal abutters) belongs to you. Will you join Sir David Attenborough and other scientists to call for the International Seabed Authority to enact a moratorium on exploitation contracts for seabed mining? Sign the petition here.

**Don’t let the sun set on the time to express your opinion on seabed mining.** Image: “Wood Point Jetty Sunset” by John, 2002. Creative Commons 2.0.

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Buried Treasure and Speedo Diplomacy.” Renewing the World: Casebook for Leadership in Water (2024) Case #6: pages 55-66. ISBN: 979-8-9850359-5-7. https://renewingtheworld.com

Brooke, K. Lusk “Deep Seabed Mining.” 18 July 2023. Building the World Blog. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2023/07/13/water-energy-deep-seabed-mining-part-2/

European Commission. “European Commission Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning batteries and waste batteries, repealing Directive 2006/66/EC and amending Regulation (EU) No 2019/1020.

Greenpeace. “Stop Seabed Mining Before It Starts.” https://www.greenpeace.org/international/act/stop-deep-sea-mining/

International Seabed Authority (ISA). https://www.isa.org.jm

Lipton, Eric. “Fight Over Seabed Agency Leadership Turns Nasty.” 4 July 2024. New York Times. https://wwwnytimes.com/2024/07/04/us/politics/seabed-agency-mining.html

Miller, K.A., et al., “Challenging the Need for Deep Seabed Mining From the Perspective of Metal Demand, Biodiversity, Ecosystems Services, and Benefit Sharing.” 28 July 2021. Frontiers in Marine Science: Ocean Sciences and Ethics. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.706161/full

Ocean Foundation, The. “Defend the Deep.” FILM by Richard Charter of The Ocean Foundation and Liz Rubin of Ecodeo https://youtu.be/C4uu03DiVhE?si=Wa1ZAeavBJ_N2Bd2

Ocean Foundation, The. “Deep Seabed Mining.” https://oceanfdn.org/deep-seabed-mining/

Oceanographic. “Over 5,000 new species discovered in the Pacific’s deep sea.” 26 May 2023. https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/5,000-new-species-found-in-clarion-clipperton-zone/

Rabone, Muriel, et al., “How many metazoan species live in the world’s largest mineral exploration area?” 19 June 2023. Current Biology. Volume 33, Issue 12, Pages 2383-2396, E5. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)00534-1

SMARTEX. “Seabed Mining and Resilience to Experimental Impact.” https://smartexccz.org

Starr, Michelle. “Alien-Looking Species Seen For First Time Ever in Ocean’s Darkest Depths.” 7 June 2024. https://www.sciencealert.com/alien-looking-species-seen-for-first-time-ever-in-oceans-darkest-depths

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Recycling Rates of Metals: A status report.” 2011. ISBN: 978-92-807-3161-3. https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/recyclilng-rates-metals

World Wildlife Fund. “Future mineral demand can be met without deep seabed mining as innovative technology can cut mineral se by 58%.” 28 November 2022. https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?7087466/Future-mineral-demand-can-be-met-without-deep-seabed-mining-as-innovative-technology-can-cut-mineral-use-by-58

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

WATER: Rivers and Rights

Posted on January 10, 2024January 11, 2024 by Building The World

Colorado River, Horseshoe Bend in Arizona,” by photographer Charles Wang, 2023. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Colorado River Basin states are working together to agree upon water use and rights. Source of drinking water for 40 million people (7 U.S. states, Mexico, and 30 Tribes of original Americans), the Colorado River has recently seen lower levels of water. Drought has plagued the area, with prospects for recharge by melting seasonal snowpack now questioned by warming related to climate change.

**Upper and Lower Colorado River Basin states supplied by Colorado River. Mexico, and 30 Tribes are also participants in the Compact**. Courtesy of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2012. Public Domain: CC0. Included with appreciation.

In 2026, present agreements on water allocation among stakeholders will expire. Rather than wait for political change, Colorado River Compact states are drafting their own new regulations. Working with the Bureau of Reclamation, agency in charge of administering the Compact, states will submit their draft plan by March 2024.

**Lawns may soon get a “thumbs down” as watering non-functional turf laws take effect to conserve water**. Image: “Lawn Doctor” by Lawn Doctor, Inc. CC4.0. Included with appreciation.

Water use restrictions are expected. Water recycling will be important: many communities are developing systems for reuse. Southern Nevada Water Authority announced that water may not be used on “non-functional turf’ – that means lawns. It was the first permanent regulation on lawns and grass: the new law will take effect in January 2027.

**Whanganui River of New Zealand was granted legal personhood rights.** Will other rivers follow suit? Image: “Whanganui River” by photographer Felix Engelhardt, 2009. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Another option? Legal personhood for important bodies of water. In New Zealand, the Whanganui River was granted legal personhood. In India, the Ganges, of sacred importance, and the Yamuna, River of the Taj Mahal, applied for legal personhood status. In the United States, the City of Toledo, Ohio sought legal rights status for Toledo’s Lake Erie harbor. Could the Colorado River seek such rights, protecting and securing its ability to recharge and renew?

**Water laws have progressed through three stages**. Image: 123 numbers gif. Public Domain, CC0. Included with appreciation.

In the past century, water laws have progressed through three stages. Early laws established rights to use water. Next, with environmental awareness, laws addressed rights of water itself to health, renewal, and sustainability. Now, with climate change, laws have begun to concern access in times of drought and water scarcity.

**How will climate change affect water agreements, regulations, and treaties?** Image: “Judge’s Gavel” by photographer Chris Potter, 2012. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Interested in the evolution of water laws? Explore this database of global water laws.

Eckstein, Gabriel, et al., “Conferring legal personality on the world’s rivers: A brief intellectual assessment.” 2019, Water International, 44: 6-7, 804-829. DOI: 10.1080/02508060.2019.1631558

Eckstein, Gabriel. “Buried Treasure or Buried Hope?” The Status of Mexico-US Transboundary Aquifers under International Law.” International Community Law Review 13 (2011): 273-290. https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/129/

Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia. “Ley de Derechos de La Madre Tierra.” https://www.scribd.com/document/44900268/Ley-de-Derechos-de-la-Madre-Tierra-Estado-Plurinacional-de-Bolivia

Flavelle, Christoper. “Colorado River States are Racing to Agree on Cuts Before Inauguration Day.” 6 January 2024. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/climate/colorado-river-negotiations.html

Permanent Forum of Binational Waters/Foro Permanente de Aguas Binacionales. https://www.binationalwaters.org

Ramirez, Rachel, with Drew Kann. “First-ever water cuts declared for Colorado River in historic drought.” 16 August 2021. CNN.com. https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/16/us/lake-mead-colorado-river-water-shortage/index.html

Sankarasubramanian, A., Upmanu Lall, Naresh Devineni, and Susan Espinueva. “The role of monthly updated climate forecasts in improving intraseasonal water allocation.” Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, Volume 48, Issue 7, 1464-1482, 2009. https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/apme/48/7/2009jamc2122.1.xml

Stone, Christoper D. “Should Trees Have Standing? – Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects.” Southern California Law Review, 45 (1972): 450-501. https://iseethics.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/stone-christopher-d-should-trees-have-standing.pdf

Water Laws Global Database. Renewing the World. https://renewingtheworld.com/files/samples/Renewing-The-World-Water-Database-Laws.pdf

CITIES: HEAT – Below

Posted on August 7, 2023August 6, 2023 by Building The World

**As above, so (much more) below! Cities can be 18F/10C hotter (0r as high as 20C) below, creating underground climate change.** Image: “Morning sunrise above Suwon Gwanggyo Lake with City in Background” by photographer Matthew Schwartz, 2016. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

“As above, so below,” goes the saying. Just one look at a large city’s skyscrapers and buildings will hint at the massive infrastructure below. But did you know that climate change, experienced by the occupants of those buildings, is also lurking beneath their urban landscape? Our cities are suffering under heat domes, but it is even hotter below.

**Machinery under buildings is related to “underground climate change,” a growing urban concern.** Image: “Underfall Yard Pumps” by photographer Blythe Varney, 2017. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Problem: The technical term is subsurface heat islands, but it’s easier to think of it as underground climate change. Equipment below skyscrapers generates heat; subways and tunnels create conditions that increase warmth. Pipelines under the ground, even sewers, are sources of subsurface heat. Land around and below large structures changes when heated, triggering slight shifts in topography. Foundations begin to erode; tunnels weaken; train rails warp; retaining walls may show cracks, then collapse.

**Subway systems under major cities are one source of underground climate change.** Image: “Washington, DC – Farragut West Station, 2018” by photographer Tdorante10. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Example: A study by Professor Alessandro F. Rotta Loria of Northwestern University placed sensors under buildings and transport infrastructure in Chicago, Illinois, noting that the ground below was measurably hotter than surface land (a difference of 18F/10C). Professor Rotta Loria studies subsurface urban heat islands, warning that “underground climate change can represent a silent hazard for civil infrastructure…but also an opportunity to reutilize or minimize waste heat in the ground.” (Rotta Loria, 2023).

**Underground climate change can weaken retaining wall**s. Image: “Wallstones Breaking” drawing by Dimitry Borshch, 2008. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Difficulty: Because it is out of sight, underground climate change is difficult to recognize – until a retaining wall breaks. Think of it as similar to the gradual change in an iceberg below the water: slow, relentless, and then tragic. Or a slow earthquake: not sudden – until it is.

**Chicago’s buildings are hotter underground by as much as 18F/10C.** Image: “Chicago Skyline” by photographer Jesse Collins. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Scale Counts: The bigger the city, the more likely underground climate change is happening. The study cited above was conducted in Chicago: population 2.6 million (2022). The study performed simulations over 100 years: from 1951 when subway tunnels were built under Chicago’s downtown “Loop” to projections until 2051. It is not unique to Chicago. Some of the world’s megacities, with populations over 10 million, could suffer significant damage. Megacities are dense, encouraging high rise construction that may exacerbate underground climate change. Cities that are growing quickly may be particularly vulnerable. For example, the most populous city of Nigeria, and its former capital before the new capital of Abuja was built in 1991, Lagos is among the world’s top ten fastest-growing cities. Another city vulnerable to underground climate change? Tokyo, Japan: population 37 million.

**Dense, populous megacities may be the most vulnerable to underground climate change.** Image: “Oloosa Market in Lagos, Nigeria,” by Omoeko Media, 2018. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Emerging Answers: There are two approaches – prevent waste heat underground, or use it. In the area of prevention: new urban building codes, especially for dense cities, will need to place more emphasis insulation and energy efficient design. But secondly, waste heat could be used as an energy resource. Geothermal innovations that capture waste heat from the subsurface can find a use for that energy. Innovations for use of waste energy will become an area of significant potential.

Above/Below: We tend to focus on mitigating climate change by addressing what we can see and feel. Noticeable effects are mainly above the ground. But there will also be great need – and opportunity for innovation – below. Is your city likely to experience underground climate change? What are some of the ways your city can measure, assess, plan to address, and even harness for beneficial use, underground climate change?

Brooke, K. Lusk. “CITIES and HEAT – Above,” 27 July 2023. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2023/07/27/cities-heat-above/

Khan, Sarah S. “Rising underground heat causes unbearable MTA commutes.” 24 July 2023. The Ticker. https://theticker.org/11622/opinions/rising-underground-heat-causes-unbearable-mta-commutes/

Prisco, Jacopo. “Underground climate change is deforming the ground beneath buildings, study finds.” 17 July 2023. CNN https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/17/world/underground-climate-change-deforming-ground-scn

Rotta Loria, Alessandro F. “The silent impact of underground climate change on civil infrastructure.” 11 July 2023. Communications Engineering 2, 44 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-023-00092-1

Zhong, Raymond with photographs by Jamie Kelter Davis. “Rising Heat Underground Is Sinking Chicago Ever So Slightly.” 11 (updated 14) July 2023. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/climate/chicago-underground-heat.html

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

CITIES AND LAND: Rights of those who were here first

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Building The World

“Indigenous Peoples Day,” image courtesy of National Indian Council on Aging – NICOA.org. Included with honor and appreciation.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day, recognized in 2021 by U.S. President Biden, and honored as a holiday this weekend in the United States, reminds us that new worlds are not discovered, just met. Leif Erikson associated by some with Greenland, is thought to have sailed off course en route to that location, instead reaching what he called Vinland and what we now call North America. Erickson spent the winter, and in spring returned to Greenland. This was four hundred years before Columbus. But even before Columbus, and before Erikson, the first humans arrived 26,000 years ago, before the Last Glacial Maximum in the Pleistocene epoch. From those earliest humans are descended those whom we call our original people, those who were here first. One group is the Cherokee Nation.

**“Trail of Tears”** by Ocmulgee National Mounds Park, nps.gov, by photographer TradingCardsNPS, 2012. Creative Commons 2.0, wikimedia. Included with honor and appreciation.

By 1830, the Cherokee Nation had established significant land in what became known as Georgia (state established in 1788): until the Treaty of New Echota. On 29 December 1835, 500 representatives of the Cherokee Nation, at that time numbering 16,000, met with representatives of the United States government at New Echota, Georgia, to accept terms of $5 million and land in Oklahoma in exchange for their 7 million acres of homeland. Sadly, the forced move 1,200 miles west proved so tragic as to give name to the Trail of Tears. But the Treaty remains unfulfilled: Article 7 of the Treaty of New Echota states: “Cherokee Nation shall be entitled to a delegate in the House of Representatives of the United States whenever Congress shall make provision for the same.”

“Map of George showing Cherokee Nation, 1830.” Original by Anthony Finley Co. of Philadelphia, 1830. Creative Commons Public Domain. Included with honor and appreciation.

Two centuries later, it is time to fulfill the treaty, make that provision, and recognize rights of those who were here first. Cherokee Nation’s Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. has nominated Kimberly Teehee to serve as inaugural Cherokee Delegate to Congress. If you support this nomination, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a good time to take action here.

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” 11 October 2015. Building the World Blog. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2015/10/12/indigenous-peoples-day/

Cherokee Nation. https://www.cherokee.org/about-the-nation/citizen-action/

Cherokee Nation and United States. “Treaty of New Echota.” text.https://dlg.usg.edu/record/dlg_zlna_tcc221?canvas=0&x=1133&y=1870&w=18337

Davidson, Frank P. and K. Lusk Brooke, “The National Trails System.” Building the World. Volume Two, pages 641-668. Greenwood: 2006. ISBN: 9780313333743.

Kaur, Harmeet. “The Cherokee Nation is again calling on Congress to deliver on a 200-year-old-promise.” 27 September 2022. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/27/us/cherokee-nation-push-for-congress-delegate-cec/index.html

Smithsonian. “Cherokee and Other Original American Music.” https://music.si.edu/feature/american-indian-music

Zimmerman, Kim Ann, and Patrick Pester. “Pleistocene epoch, The last ice age.” 28 February 2022. Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/40311-pleistocene-epoch.html

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

ENERGY: Agreeing on a better future

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Building The World

The largest energy investment in United States history just made history. Climate and energy policy, worth $369 billion, has been agreed. Incentives and actions in the bill are estimated to lower American carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.

“High Park Wildfire, USA.” Image from U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2012. Wikimedia public domain, included with appreciation.

It’s not a minute too soon. At a time when Americans are battling drought, wildfires, flooding, heatwaves so intense that roads are melting, climate policy has grown urgent. And costly. The insurance industry reports costs of $39 billion in climate-related damage in the first half of 2022; that’s up from $31 billion just a year ago. Germany is turning off hot water in public taps, and all of Europe is bracing for a winter without Russian energy. The UK announced sea-level rise increased faster and more than expected. Nations, and regions, must work together to share energy resources and transitions.

The Manhattan Project marshaled the cooperation and resources of a nation. Image: “Manhattan Project Map” by Liandrei, 2011. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Americans have risen to the challenge of urgent energy response before. The Manhattan Project, spurred by fear of disaster and damage yet unknown to humankind, marshaled the resources of a nation. The result was a new form of energy. The Clean Air Act of 1990 was the last big American environmental legislation: this will top that, bringing a plethora of incentives, subsidies and taxes. Some environmentalists lament one provision allowing drilling on 2 million acres of public land and 60 million acres of offshore seabed before use for renewable energy. While there are EV credits, the bill lacks similar encouragement for bikes, especially ebikes, knocking off an earlier credit of $900 in the earlier plan.

Here are some bill provisions, still pending passage:

POWER PLANTS – tax credits for zero-carbon power including battery, geothermal, nuclear, solar, wind.

CARBON SEQUESTRATION – tax credits for carbon capture.

EV – Buy a new electric car and get $7,500 off; buy a used Ev and get $4,000 off.

ENERGY EFFICIENT HOMES – the bill allocates $9billion for new energy-saving appliances, solar roofs, new air conditioning, heat pumps.

CLEAN MANUFACTURING – for domestic production of batteries, or key minerals like lithium, solar panels, or wind turbines, there is $60 billion waiting, plus an additional $500 million to assist with heat pumps and key minerals.

METHANE MITIGATION – plugging leaks from gas and oil wells, pipelines is key to stopping methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. This provision works by penalty – $900 per metric ton of emissions over federal limits by 2024, moving to $1,500 in 2026. On the plus side, $20 billion for farmers to reduce cow burps and agricultural gases.

DOING GOOD IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD – $60 billion for communities unfairly burdened by climate change.

In November 2022, the world will reconvene for COP 27 to report climate action steps. If passed into law, this new agreement will advance climate response for the United helping to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #13 – Climate Action.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal – CLIMATE ACTION. Image: United Nations, 2016. Wikimedia public domain. Included with appreciation.

Environmental Protection Agency, United States (EPA). “Clean Air Act.” 1990. https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/clean-air-act-text

Nilsen, Ella. “Clean energy package would be biggest legislative climate investment in US history.” 28 July 2022. CNN.com. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/28/politics/climate-deal-joe-manchin/index.html

Shao, Elena and Brad Plumer. “Seven Key Provisions in the Climate Deal.” 28 July 2022. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/climate/biden-climate-deal-key-provisions.html?referringSource=articleShare

Zipper, David. “There’s a maddening omission in the Senate Climate Bill: Congressional Democrats cannot imagine a world in which fewer people drive cars.” 29 July 2022. Slate.com. https://slate.com/business/2022/07/climate-bill-manchin-schumer-senate-ebikes-evs-cars.html

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

CITIES: Plastic – Part 4, The Promise

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Building The World

UNEP meets in Nairobi to draft global plastic treaty 2022. Image: “Nairobi night skyline.” by Nbi101, 2013. CC4.0 Wikimedia.

GLOBAL TREATY TO END PLASTIC POLLUTION: This week, 175 UN Member States are meeting in Nairobi to decide upon a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. “Ambitious action to beat plastic pollution should track the lifespan of plastic products – from source to sea – should be legally binding, accompanied by support to developing countries, backed by financing mechanism tracked by strong monitoring mechanisms, and incentivizing all stakeholders – including the private sector,” states Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP 2022).

BUSINESS CAN LEAD THE WAY: While governments can agree, it is business and industry that will make the difference. Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) announced the switch to reusable and refillable packaging. Some of the brands may be familiar to you: Crest, Cascade, Gillette, Pampers, Pantene, and Tide all plan new packaging. Partnering with TerraCycle’s Loop program, P&G’s Ambition 2030 campaign will aim for a circular manufacturing process with as little plastic as possible. Some products like Pampers will come with a bin: when it is full, just text a pick-up service that will take your waste for repurposing and drop off a new container. TerraCycle partners with UPS helped to design packaging, with an eye to the role of transportation as “an enabler for circularity. UPS’ director for global sustainability believes “Loop is the signal for the future.” For more brand innovations, click here.

“Crest toothpaste,” photographer Scott Ehardt, 2005. Dedicated to the public domain by Scott Ehardt. Wikimedia.

TRASH OR TREASURE? Most plastic packaging is used only once. Only 14% of plastic collected is recycled. But it’s more than just trash – it’s valuable. Yet, 95% of that value – mainly of plastic packaging material – is lost to the economy. It is worth $100 billion – annually. (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2022).

PLASTIC OF THE FUTURE – Here are some ways to end plastic pollution:

Innovate so all plastics we do need are reusable, recyclable, or compostable

Ensure future plastics are free from hazardous chemicals

Catch and filter plastic trash carried by rivers (93% from just a few main rivers)

Redesign the plastics system from source to sea

Set up collection, regulatory, and policy government guidelines

Join UNEP agreement with government and business to solve plastic pollution

Transform recycled and reused plastic into a commodity of value

READ the Draft Resolution, “End plastic pollution: Towards an internationally legally binding instrument.” 2 March 2022. HERE.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation. “Plastics and The Circular Economy.” https://archive.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/explore/plastics-and-the-circular-economy

Ivanova, Maria. Moderator: “Looking Back: 50 Years of the UN Environment Programme.” 4 March 2022.UNEP and Center for Governance & Sustainability, University of Massachusetts Boston. https://www.environmentalgovernance.org/unepdialogue

Szczepanski, Mallory. “The Loop shopping system aims to change the world’s reliance on single-use packaging.” 6 February 2019. Waste360. https://www.waste360.com/waste-reduction/terracycle-partners-major-brands-launch-sustainable-shopping-system

UNEP. “UN Environment Assembly opens with all eyes on a global agreement on plastic pollution,” 28 February 2022. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-environment-assembly-opens-all-eyes-global-agreemen-plastic

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

CITIES: Landscapes and Dreamscapes

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Building The World

“I Have A Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. on 28 August 1963. Photo shows the view from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. Image: wikimedia.

When Martin Luther King delivered a speech that would ring throughout history, “I Have a Dream,” he did so on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, in the nation’s capital. King’s words echoed Lincoln’s, who proposed and signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and were framed by the setting of a monument dedicated to equality, freedom, and justice. The crowd assembled stretched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, in a public gathering space first envisioned by the country’s founders. Today’s march to urge passage of a law to protect voting rights is part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Peace Walk.

L’Enfant’s plan for Washington, D.C., facsimile, us.gov. Image: wikimedia

With the vision of capital to be both a center of government and a landscape that invited public art and public gatherings, George Washington engaged architect and engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant in 1791 to map out a new city. The plan was inspired by the open boulevards of Paris, L’Enfant’s original home before he at the age of 22 the young engineer volunteered to serve with the Corps of Engineers of the United States Continental Army: it was then that he met Washington. However, the relationship proved volatile and Washington fired L’Enfant in 1792.

“Benjamin Banneker” from image on a U.S. postal stamp honoring the brilliant mathematician and surveyor whom many credit with preserving the design of Washington, D.C.’s design. Image: wikimedia.

Benjamin Banneker, a mathematician and astronomer with an apparently photographic memory, saved the capital. Banneker remember L’Enfant’s design and detailed blueprints exactly. He had been engaged by Major Andrew Ellicott to survey the land. Banneker particularly noted L’Enfant’s design of grand open space for monuments, public art, and common ground for gatherings, and kept the vision in the city’s plan. Others on the capital team included Latrobe and Jefferson. Benjamin Banneker and Martin Luther King, Jr. shared a vision, and some background: both shared an African-American heritage.

“Original Plan for Brasilia” by Lúcio Costa” from O Spaço Lúcio Costa, Brasilia, permanent exhibition: photograph by Uri Rosenheck. Image: wikimedia.

Cities, especially capitals, have an opportunity to be more than an urban conglomerate. In some ways, a capital is public art. When Brazil moved its capital from coastal Rio de Janeiro to the center of the country, the nation gave a new name, Brasilia, to its capital. Recognizing a new era in global perspective and transport, Brasilia was built in the shape of an airplane.

“Drivers, Processes, and Impacts of Sinking Cities” graphic by Wbliss10, 2019. Wikimedia commons.

With global warming and rising seas, we will see the rebuilding of coastal cities. It is a fact that many capitals, especially ancient ones, were ports. Indonesia plans to move its capital because the current one is sinking at a rate of 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) per year due to coastal location exacerbated by aggressive draining of groundwater under Jakarta. Bangkok, Thailand recently reviewed projections that it could be underwater by 2030, due to a combination of heavy skyscrapers built during a real estate and economic boom, and depletion of groundwater resources, despite attempts to slow the process including Thailand’s Ground Water Act of 1977. Dhaka, Bangladesh is sinking at a rate of 0.55 inches (1.4 centimeters) and sea level rise in the Bay of Bengal is higher than the global average. Nigeria moved its capital from coastal Lagos to central Abuja.

“Aerial panorama of Bremen and the river Weser – Bremen von oben” by Moinichbins, 2020. Image: wikimedia.

Sea rise may soon cause nations to rebuild and redesign some cities, especially those located near water. How can capitals be both centers of efficient governance and inspirational gatherings? If you were to design a new capital, based on the virtues and values of a nation, how would you create a city that is both a landscape and a dreamscape?

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Jakarta: first capital to move due to sea rise.” 2019 Building the World Blog. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2019/05/01/jakarta-first-capital-to-move-due-to-sea-rise/

Keene, Louis. “Benjamin Banneker.” The White House Historical Association.” https://www.whitehousehistory.org/benjamin-banneker

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “I Have A Dream.” 28 August 1963. LISTEN: https://youtu.be/vP4/Y1TtS3s

Rosane, Olivia. “8 World Cities That Could Be Underwater As Oceans Rise.” 5 October 2018. EcoWatch. https://www.ecowatch.com/cities-vulnerable-sea-level-rise-2610208792.html

Thailand. “Ground Water Act of 1977.” http://www.dgr.go.th/en/about/391

Washington D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Walk. 17 January 2022. https://mlkholidaydc.org/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

ENERGY: Physics of Climate Change

Posted on October 5, 2021October 6, 2021 by Building The World

“Nobel Prize Medal.” Photographer, Jonathunder. Wikimedia commons.

Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann, and Giorgio Parisi “demonstrate that our knowledge about the climate rests on a solid scientific foundation,” stated the Nobel Prize Committee, when awarding the Nobel Prize for Physics 2021. Half of the prize went to Parisi for discovery of the “interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atoms to planetary scales,” while Manabe and Hasselmann split the other half. Manabe created one of the first climate models that revealed how carbon emissions warmed the planet, while Hasselmann showed that Manabe’s computer simulations could accurately predict the trends of climate change, even while weekly weather fluctuations were still variable. Parisi won for studies of the results produced when metals like iron or copper are mixed, revealing patterns. Parisi commented, when winning the Nobel Prize, that perhaps the Nobel Committee wanted to send the world a message about climate change: “I think it’s urgent. It’s clear that for the future generations we have to act now in a very fast way.” (Brumfiel 2021). Stefan Rahmstorg, climate modeler, stated “Physics-based climate models made it possible to predict the amount and pace of global warming, including some of the consequences like rising seas, increased extreme rainfall events and stronger hurricanes, decades before they could be observed.” (Keyton and Borenstein, 2021)

“Global warming” NASA 2016. Image: public domain, nasa.gov.

Recent weather proves the scientists right: in 2021, 36% of Americans, and many more worldwide, suffered severe effects of climate change through drought and fires, storms and floods. In a few weeks, the world will convene in Glasgow, Scotland for COP26, sequel to the Paris Agreement (COP21). Now it is time for action. What do you think are the highest priorities for climate?

Brumfiel, Geoff. “The Nobel Prize in physics honors work on climate change and complex systems.” 5 October 2021, NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2021/10/05/1043278925/nobel-prize-physics-climate-change-winner

Hasselmann, Klaus. “Interview with Klaus Hasselmann” 2009. Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change. VIDEO https://youtu.be/uSfmKx2ylSc

Keyton, David and Seth Borenstein. “Physics Nobel rewards work on complex systems, like climate.” 5 October 2021. AP.com

Nobel Prize. https://www.nobelprize.org

Manabe, Syukuro and Richard T. Wetherald. “On the Distribution of Climate Change Resulting from an Increase in CO2 Content of the Atmosphere.” January 1980, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Volume 37, pages 99 – 118.

Manabe, Syukuro. “Why this is happening” Interview upon receiving Nobel Prize in Physics 2021.” AUDIO. Telephone call interview with Manabe explaining the work. https://youtu.be/yt246IKVhr4

Parisi, Giorgio. “Statement on receiving Nobel Prize.” 5 October 2021. AUDIO interview. https://youtu.be/GE-qX8mwvuA

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unp

CITIES: WASHINGTON, D.C.

Posted on January 21, 2021January 29, 2021 by Building The World

“Presidential Inauguration 1905.” Library of Congress, image.

Washington, D.C., setting of two distinctly disparate 2021 events on 6 January and 20 January, was designed for public gatherings in wide open spaces. Major Pierre L’Enfant, born in France but an ardent supporter of the American Revolutionary War who volunteered to serve in the Corps of Engineering of the Continental Army, met George Washington and proposed himself as the designer of the country’s new capital. In L’Enfant’s vision, wide avenues would radiate from the house of Congress and the house of the President. L’Enfant sketched 15 open spaces for gatherings and monuments: L’Enfant stated that open spaces were as important as buildings.

Washington Mall, site of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech of 1963, and of 200,000 flags heralding the Biden-Harris Inauguration of 2021. Image: “National Mall, Washington, D.C.” wikimedia.

L’Enfant may have been influenced by the design of a renovated Paris, France, by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, who enlarged the boulevards for two reasons: better air circulation to lessen the spread of viral disease, and large public gathering spaces. Paris still benefits from these two reasons, as does Washington.

“L’Enfant’s Plan of Washington, D.C., 1887.” National Register of Historic Places: 97000332. Image: Library of Congress.

L’Enfant ‘s grand vision was almost lost. Apparently there was a dispute, and L’Enfant fled the city with the detailed plans. Enter Benjamin Banneker. Bannekar, who had attended a one-room school while studying independently with his grandmother, was known for mathematical brilliance when he came to work with Major Andrew Ellicott as a surveyor to establish the District of Columbia’s official capital borders.

Benjamin Banneker, from Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum. Wikimedia.

Among Banneker’s considerable talents was a photo-perfect memory. L’Enfant’s design was imprinted on the surveyor’s mind and, according to some reports, soon reproduced for completion by Benjamin Banneker.

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture site, in Washington, D.C., is within an area now named Benjamin Banneker Park. Banneker also wrote an almanac, with an inaugural publication entitled: Benjamin Banneker’s Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanack and Ephemeris, for the Year of Our Lord 1792. Banneker corresponded with Thomas Jefferson, and published abolitionist material advocating a vision in part realized, in the capital he helped design, with the inauguration of Barack Obama on 20 January 2009, and 20 January 2021, the inauguration day of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Washington, D.C., joins a small group of designed cities in history. Baghdad was created from a drawing of three concentric circles etched by sword in the sand. Abuja, Nigeria’s new capital, was influenced by Haussman’s Paris, as well as Washington, D.C., and Brasília was the first city designed to be seen from the air, and shaped like an airplane when seen from that vantage point. Capital cities are an iconic kind of urban center, embodying ideals of government and national values. In The New Science of Cities (2013), Michael Batty proposed that we see cities as systems of networks and flows. Arnold Toynbee, in Cities of Destiny, stated that cities, led with vision, may become incubators of art, culture, and science.

As Washington, D.C., takes on a new character in 2021, encouraged by inaugural address values of respect and unity, and led by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, how might L’Enfant’s and Banneker’s design give what Lawrence Durrell called the “spirit of place” to a new spirit of nation?

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Vice President Kamala D. Harris. inaugurated in Washington, D.C., on 20 January 2021.

Batty, Michael. The New Science of Cities. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2013. ISBN: 9780262019521

Bedini, Silvio A. The Life of Benjamin Banneker. Rancho Cordova, CA: Landmark Enterprises, 1984.

Durrell, Lawrence. Spirit of Place: Letters and Essays on Travel. edited by Alan G. Thomas. Open Road: Integrated Media.

Keene, Louis. “Benjamin Banneker: The Black Tobacco Farmer Who Presidents Couldn’t Ignore.” White House Historical Association.

National Museum of African American History & Culture. “The NMAAHC Museum Site,” https://nmaahc.si.edu/nmaahc-museum-site.

Reston, Maeve. “Biden: ‘Democracy has prevailed.'” 20 January 2021. CNN.com. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/politics/joe-biden-presidential-inauguration/index.html

Tan, Shelly, Youjin Shin, and Danielle Rinder. “How one of American’s ugliest days unraveled inside and outside the Capitol.” 9 January 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/capitol-insurrection-visual-timeline/

Toynbee, Arnold. editor. Cities of Destiny. London: Thames & Hudson, 1967.

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unp

T-MEC: What’s in a Name?

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Building The World

Finding common ground among nations joining in regional agreements is difficult enough: policies on issues from food to energy to trade must be deliberated. And then, there’s the name. While the “New Nafta,” launched 29 January 2020, was named top-down as USMCA (US-Mexico-Canada-Agreement) in the United States, Mexico took an inclusive approach. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known popularly as AMLO, announced a naming contest on Twitter. According to Dr. Amrita Bahri, co-chair of the WTO Chair Program for Mexico and Professor of Law, ITAM University, and Guillermo Moad Valenzuela, of International Trade Law, ITAM University, the naming contest stated four criteria:

NAMING AND FRAMING:

Name similar to the English and French versions;

Name begins with the letter “T” as in Tratado;

Name is easily pronounceable in Spanish;

Name reflects the spirit of cooperation.

On Twitter, Mexico received hundreds of suggestions, selecting two finalists for adoption: TEUMECA (Tratado Estados Unidos México Canadá) or T-MEC (Tratado México Estados Unidos Canadá). The winner, T-MEC, contains a review provision in six years. Perhaps the parties learned that lesson from the Colorado River Compact, when a failure to define all parties’ water rights resulted in subsequent lawsuits. Mexico and the Navajo sued and were awarded water rights with sovereignty not granted to American states. In T-MEC, Mexico specifically reserved “Direct, inalienable, and imprescriptible ownership of hydrocarbons” (chapter 8).

Regions may be the new nations. Viewed from space, the world shows no lines as seen on maps; instead, we observe that linked land shares common resources. Recognizing dual values of inclusion and diversity, how should we frame, and name, future agreements on shared resources?

Bahri, Amrita and Guillermo Moad Valenzuela. “A new name for NAFTA: USMCA, TEUMECA or T-MEC?” 15 October 2018. El Universal. https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english/new-name-nafta-usmca-teumeca-or-t-mec/

ACEUM text: https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cusma-aceum/text-texte/toc-tdm.aspx?lang=fra

CUSMA text: https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cusma-aceum/index.aspx?lang=eng

T-MEC text: https://www.gob.mx/t-mec/acciones-y-programas/textos-finales-del-tratado-entre-mexico-estados-unidos-y-canada-t-mec-202730

USMCA text: http://www.sice.oas.org/Trade/USMCA/USMCA_ToC_PDF_e.asp

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unpor