Towards a generation of sustainability - where are we, where do we want to go?

It’s time for the last green bug lectures this semester. This time I want to report from a conference I attended in Berlin. It had the title “generation sustainability” and was organized by students alone. However, there were famous presenters invited like Hans Joachim Schellnhuber (head of the Potsdam institute for climate research) or Elmar Altvater. We heard some interesting presentations and had good discussions there, and I want to share some of the inspiration I got there with you. And most of all: after all the interesting presentations we had this semester, and all the important things that are happening around us, I want to provide some space for us together to draw some conclusions, and to share some ideas what to do. Fetewei Tarekegn will support me by giving a presentation on the aspects of intergenerational justice.

"Towards a generation of sustainability - where are we, where do we want to go?"

Tuesday, 6^th of July, at TMS, starting at 18:00h

Attention: we start at 18:00h already in order to give those who want to see both, the lecture and the soccer game, a chance. Because the saying goes: there are more important things than soccer, but not now…

Hope to see you there!

Tar sands in Alberta, Canada: Oil rich sands, poor nature

Canada’s oil/tar sands have gained international attention over their environmental impacts and rapid development. Canada is home to one of the World’s largest oil reserves, most of which is only accessible by unconventional extraction methods making it more energy intensive than conventional oil. Major environmental concerns include deforestation of the boreal forest, loss of wetland ecosystems, high emissions of atmospheric pollutants, and the development of toxic tailings ponds that span a total area greater than 130km².

A presentation by Laura Kiff

Tuesday, 22nd of june, at TMS, starting at 19:00h

Oil versus Nature - A battle in Ecuador - Summary

A good start into the next year of green bug lectures! Thanks to Holger and Jennifer for their interesting presentation. We provide here the slides of the presentation, further information and foremost: with space for further discussion and comments. Make use of it ;-)

The presentation can be downloaded here.

The video that was shown during the presentation can be watched here.

Holger sent me a link to another video on the lawsuit, click here to watch it.

The most important links from the presentation:

www.chevrontoxico.com
www.amazonwatch.org
www.texacorainforest.com
www.sosyasuni.org
www.yasuni-itt.gov.ec

As additional information: a very good and critical report on carbon trade can be found here („this publication takes a broad look at several dimensions of carbon trading. It analyses the problems arising from the emerging global carbon market pertaining to the environment, social justice and human rights, and investigates climate mitigation alternatives. It provides a short history of carbon trading and discusses a number of ‘lessons unlearned’. Nine case studies from different parts of the world provide examples of the outcomes.“)

Stay informed, so that you know when and where to act.

The next lecture will be held on Tuesday, May 11^th by FRESH! Don’t miss it!

Oil versus Nature - A battle in Ecuador

The opening lecture for this semester will be held by Jennifer Bilbao and Holger Fischer, both of them Ph.D students at this university. Their subject will be:

Oil versus Nature - A battle in Ecuador

Ecuador's pristine forests are important hotspots of biodiversity. This paradise is threatened by the black gold that lies underneath - crude oil in the values of billions of dollars that transnational oil companies are eager to exploit. Reckless exploitation and oil spilling that endangers the health of the local population have already led to the biggest environmental lawsuit in history. Can the new strategy, the Yasuní - Initiative, save this world natural heritage for all of us?

Don’t miss this opportunity to get first hand information and to learn about a very interesting approach in resource management. Certainly something worth a good discussion. And as the last semester: it’s in the TMS, nice atmosphere, with drinks and beer, and FRESH provides some food.

Tuesday, 20th of April, at TMS, starting at 19:00h

Take a look around in past posts for further information and interesting material about the last lectures. Tell your interested friends!!!

Hope to see you there!

Green Bug Lecture: 1st Anniversary

All most one year ago we introduced the first green bug lectures. We had many interesting presentations and topics. I want to use this opportunity to thank all people involved, and not at least, all of you for your participation. The lecture has become a nice little part of student’s life at the University, and provided some inspiring moments to all that have been there. I think its worth the effort to continue them, and with all of you participating we may even get new people involved and interested. Presentation – Discussion - Talking politics! Get informed - get engaged - get organized! Join in and have your say!

This semester it will not be me organizing the lectures, but one student group for each lecture. Greening Hohenheim, FRESH and the AKÖ already joined in. We will soon provide you with the dates and intended subjects.

The opening lecture for this semester will be held by Jennifer Bilbao and Holger Fischer, both of them Ph.D students at this university. See next post!

Resource wars?

This semester ends soon, but not without a last green bug lectures before we start our well deserved holidays! Remember we promised you that we will have an expert for geopolitics coming from the Netherlands to present for us? Finally, he is coming to hold a lecture on “Resource wars? Geopolitical implications of increasingly scarce natural resources”.

Thus, the last lecture for this semester is again to cover a broader, general subject. Water, oil, minerals, arable land… natural resources that seemed inexhaustible are all going to become increasingly scarce in this century. The leading world powers react with different strategies on that challenge. What are these strategies? Are they leading the world into large military conflicts? What are the different geopolitical scenarios for the next decades? These are just some of the issues Jaakko Kooroshy is going to explore.

Jaakko holds a degree in international economics as well as in social sciences. Currently he works as an expert for geopolitical developments at The Hague Center for Strategy Studies in the Netherlands. He published a study on the geopolitical implications of the melting ice shield in the arctic recently, and another one on the scarcity of minerals for the Dutch government.

We are very happy that we managed to present you a real external expert at the end of this semester’s lectures. So please, even if you feel busy preparing for the exams: take a break, take your time thinking about the broader issues of what is happening in our world, and enjoy a very interesting talk and discussion supported by FRESH food and cool drinks.

Tuesday, 2nd of february. As always: at 19:00h, at the TMS, and with FRESH serving Food!!!

Hope to see you there!

Climate change policy: additions

The news in the run-up to Copenhagen are not encouraging. However: how could we give up here? And indeed, the spirit of commitment and engagement at this university slowly grows:

After the last lectures the initiative was taken to found a students group in order to improve energy efficiency at the university. They will hold their first official meeting at Thursday, 26th Nov Nov, at 18:00h, room is still to be announced. Please contact Holger Fischer for further information! I think this sort of initiatives is really what we need, so let's give them all support we can share!

The demonstration at Friday was quite a success; there were at least 500 people. Most of them were youths, the ones who start engaging now and might soon be in positions to take responsibility, so its promising if they know already now what to stand for!

Still, to be informed is important. I try my best here to sum up information for you, hoping that some of you can make use of it. Comments would be highly appreciated! :-)

• A really good, very short summery about the state of affairs in pre-Copenhagen negotiations can be found here.
• An elaborate investigation on the perception of climate change in the US can be found here.
• For those of you who have a little bit of time to read: check out the document " Contours of Climate Justice - Ideas for shaping new climate and energy politics"

Copenhagen COP 15... let's keep going!