We have moved into a new geological epoch, an unprecedented era in which a certain species—Homo sapiens and in particular, certain groups of Homo sapiens, mainly concentrated in high-income countries—is changing nature more severely than natural processes are. Most of us living in high-income countries are overconsuming the Earth’s resources. As we do so, we are wiping off forests, polluting waters, changing climate and driving other species to extinction—on daily basis. As an example, between 2015 and 2020, we lost 10 million hectares of forests each year. Our destructive consumption is endangering all species, including ourselves.
Continue reading “Environmentally sustainable business in the era of advanced technologies?”Social Imaginaries in Times of Climate Change
Over the last several months, as I near the end of my first year of doctoral research, I’ve been pondering what exactly is the purpose of the work I am doing. This purpose started out as one idea in the beginning, but is fluid and changes over time. My research journey has involved shifting between and combining different aspects of urban green infrastructure, data capitalism, and social imaginaries, as I try to align methods with personal philosophies. Sustainability takes on different meanings for everyone, and the actions that we can take to leave our planet in a better state than we found it are of course socially and politically dependent. As members of the sustainability research community, we are in a privileged position to consider our work as part of global efforts to forestall climate and social justice crises.
Continue reading “Social Imaginaries in Times of Climate Change”Human warming: acknowledging the growing emotionality of researchers towards permafrost thawing
By Lowenna Arnold, Hector Sanchez and Julia Kreß
How the urgency of permafrost melting in the Arctic impacts emotional responses within research and why they should be better communicated
Permafrost thawing is not only a physical threat to our environment and communities, but is also a phenomenon that releases an emotional impact. In this blogpost, we want to highlight the emotional impact that permafrost has in the scientific community by presenting the results from a series of qualitative interviews that we conducted with researchers from different countries in Europe. We have called this phenomenon human warming, an individual’s growing emotionality towards the climate issues we face through research work. Emotions are complex and multifaceted, they are determined by our past experiences and shape our attitudes toward future scenarios. Where are the connections between emotions, science data and communication? For some reason, we seem to treat emotions and science as separate entities when, in fact, they directly influence each other. This is why, we reckon that there is not enough integration between emotions and scientific research and this needs to change.
Continue reading “Human warming: acknowledging the growing emotionality of researchers towards permafrost thawing”Maailma muuttuu – miten käy lohikalojen?
Changing climate conditions and land use shape northern landscapes. Freshwater ecosystems hosting valued migrating fish are not an exception. The Atlantic salmon, brown trout, European whitefish, and Arctic char are not only threatened by in-water building and exploitation but the pressure is added from increasing temperature and nutrient influx, further altering the environment.
Muuttuvat ilmasto-olosuhteet ja maanmuokkaus jättävät jälkensä pohjoisiin maisemiin. Vaelluskalojen vuoksi arvostetut makean veden ekosysteemit eivät tee tähän poikkeusta. Atlantin lohta, taimenia, eurooppalaista siikaa ja rautua uhkaavat vesirakentamisen lisäksi kohoavat lämpötilat ja vesistön rikastuminen, jotka osaltaan muokkaavat niiden ympäristöä.
Continue reading “Maailma muuttuu – miten käy lohikalojen?”Food Sustainability: Innovations in Transition
The transition to sustainable and climate-wise food production requires the development and large-scale introduction of new cultivation methods, innovative primary production processes, circular economy solutions, strong nutrition, and food technology competence. Finland has the opportunity to take a leading role in the transition towards a sustainable global food system, and at the same time, benefit from the economic growth opportunities that will emerge during the changes.
Continue reading “Food Sustainability: Innovations in Transition”