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In Libya , it all started as a protest for democratic change. When the government responded with force, the said protesters got help of foreign countries inform of guns and fought Gardiff.  Today, Libya and other countries like Syria are failed states

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In Libya , it all started as a protest for democratic change. When the government responded with force, the said protesters got help of foreign countries inform of guns and fought Gardiff.  Today, Libya and other countries like Syria are failed states

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Narice Ninyesiga

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2016/mar/23/theatre-effective-protest-activism-change-debate

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/23/palestinians-file-complaint-against-israel-under-anti-racism-treaty

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/23/palestinians-file-complaint-against-israel-under-anti-racism-treaty

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Here is a document providing insight on how to reflect on systemic change. Enjoy!
https://www.bridgew.edu/sites/default/files/relatedfiles/Thoughts-about-systemic-change.pdf

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The UofL Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a bachelor's degree in sustainability, a center to study and prevent student failures, and a new slate of officers for the coming year.

The board approved the Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability program, which will train students to research, identify, implement and monitor sustainable processes and systems. Housed in the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Urban and Public Affairs, the interdisciplinary program is designed to prepare students for careers in sustainability-related areas such as the environment, energy, climate change, public policy, transportation and urban and regional planning. It also will give students a solid base from which to pursue graduate training in related fields.

The board also approved the Center for Instructional and Behavioral Research in Schools. Building on existing work in the College of Education and Human Development, the center will promote and fund research and community outreach to help prevent student failures in schools. Departments throughout the CEHD and other units across campus will focus on learning and behavioral disorders. Current work that will be absorbed into the center includes the Academic and Behavior Response to Intervention (ABRI) project, which supports thousands of teacher-student classroom observations, analysis from their work and instructional videos used in teacher training. It also includes the State Personnel Development Grant, which trains school personnel from across Kentucky in effective instructional strategies for students who are at risk of failing in reading and mathematics.

In other action, the trustees elected a new slate of officers. They are: Larry Benz, chair; Craig Greenberg, vice chair; Stephen Campbell, treasurer; Bill Summers, secretary.
Source: UofL Trustees approve programs, name new officers (UofL News, Sept. 22, 2016)

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UofL Trustees approve interdisciplinary Sustainability major

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The UofL Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a bachelor's degree in sustainability, a center to study and prevent student failures, and a new slate of officers for the coming year.

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Throughout the book, Eisenstein relates real-life stories showing how small, individual acts of courage, kindness, and self-trust can change our culture’s guiding narrative of separation, which, he shows, has generated the present planetary crisis. He brings to conscious awareness a deep wisdom we all innately know: until we get our selves in order, any action we take—no matter how good our intentions—will ultimately be wrongheaded and wronghearted. Above all, Eisenstein invites us to embrace a radically different understanding of cause and effect, sounding a clarion call to surrender our old worldview of separation, so that we can finally create the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.

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Sometimes I feel nostalgic for the cultural mythology of my youth, a world in which there was nothing wrong with soda pop, in which the Super Bowl was important, in which America was bringing democracy to the world, in which the doctor could fix you, in which science was going to make life better and better, and they just put a man on the moon.

Life made sense. If you worked hard you could get good grades, get into a good college, go to grad school or follow some other professional path, and you would be happy. With a few unfortunate exceptions, you would be successful if you obeyed the rules of our society: if you followed the latest medical advice, kept informed by reading the New York Times, got a good education, obeyed the law, made prudent investments, and stayed away from Bad Things like drugs. Sure there were problems, but the scientists and experts were working hard to fix them. Soon a new medical advance, a new law, a new educational technique, would propel the onward improvement of life. My childhood perceptions were part of a narrative I call the Story of the People, in which humanity was destined to create a perfect world through science, reason, and technology: to conquer nature, transcend our animal origins, and engineer a rational society.

From my vantage point, the basic premises of this story seemed unquestionable. My education, the media, and most of all the normality of the routines around me conspired to say, "Everything is fine." Today it is increasingly obvious that this was a bubble world built atop massive human suffering and environmental degradation, but at the time one could live within that bubble without need of much self-deception. The story that surrounded us was robust. It easily kept anomalous data points on the margins.

Nonetheless, I (like many others) felt a wrongness in the world, a wrongness that seeped through the cracks of my privileged, insulated childhood. I never fully accepted what I had been offered as normal. Life, I knew, was supposed to be more joyful than this, more real, more meaningful, and the world was supposed to be more beautiful. We were not supposed to hate Mondays and live for the weekends and holidays. We were not supposed to have to raise our hands to be allowed to pee. We were not supposed to be kept indoors on a beautiful day, day after day. And as my horizons broadened, I knew that millions were not supposed to be starving, that nuclear weapons were not supposed to be hanging over our heads, that the rainforests were not supposed to be shrinking, or the fish dying, or the condors and eagles disappearing. I could not accept the way the dominant narrative of my culture handled these things: as fragmentary problems to be solved, as unfortunate facts of life to be regretted, or as unmentionable taboo subjects to be simply ignored.

On some level, we all know better. This knowledge seldom finds clear articulation, so instead we express it indirectly through covert and overt rebellion. Addiction, self-sabotage, procrastination, laziness, rage, chronic fatigue, and depression are all ways that we withhold our full participation in the program of life we are offered. When the conscious mind cannot find a reason to say no, the unconscious says no in its own way. More and more of us cannot bear to stay in the "old normal" any longer.

This narrative of normal is crumbling on a systemic level too. We live today at a moment of transition between worlds. The institutions that have borne us through the centuries have lost their vitality; only with increasing self-delusion can we pretend they are sustainable. Our systems of money, politics, energy, medicine, education, and more are no longer delivering the benefits they once did (or seemed to). Their Utopian promise, so inspiring a century ago, recedes further every year. Millions of us know this; more and more, we hardly bother to pretend otherwise. Yet we seem helpless to change, helpless even to stop participating in industrial civilization's rush over the cliff.

I have in my earlier work offered a reframing of this process, seeing human cultural evolution as a story of growth, followed by crisis, followed by breakdown, followed by a renaissance: the emergence of a new kind of civilization, an Age of Reunion to follow the Age of Separation. Perhaps profound change happens only through collapse. Certainly that is true for many on a personal level. You may know, intellectually, that your lifestyle isn't sustainable and you have to change your ways. "Yeah, yeah. I know I should stop smoking. Start exercising. Stop buying on credit." But how often does anyone change without a wake-up call, or more often, a series of wake-up calls? After all, our habits are embedded in a way of being that includes all aspects of life. Hence the saying, "You cannot change one thing without changing everything."

On the collective level the same is true. As we awaken to the interconnectedness of all our systems, we see that we cannot change, for example, our energy technologies without changing the economic system that supports them. We learn as well that all of our external institutions reflect our basic perceptions of the world, our invisible ideologies and belief systems. In that sense, we can say that the ecological crisis-like all our crises-is a spiritual crisis. By that I mean it goes all the way to the bottom, encompassing all aspects of our humanity.

And what, exactly, is at the bottom? What do I mean by a "transition between worlds"? At the bottom of our civilization lies a story, a mythology. I call it the Story of the World or the Story of the People-a matrix of narratives, agreements, and symbolic systems that comprises the answers our culture offers to life's most basic questions:

Who am I?

Why do things happen?

What is the purpose of life?

What is human nature?

What is sacred?

Who are we as a people?

Where did we come from and where are we going?

Our culture answers them more or less as follows. I will present a pure articulation of these answers, this Story of the World, though in fact it has never dominated completely even as it reached its zenith in the last century. You might recognize some of these answers to be scientifically obsolete, but this obsolete nineteenth- and twentieth-century science still generates our view of what is real, possible, and practical. The new physics, the new biology, the new psychology have only barely begun to infiltrate our operating beliefs. So here are the old answers:

Who are you? You are a separate individual among other separate individuals in a universe that is separate from you as well. You are a Cartesian mote of consciousness looking out through the eyes of a flesh robot, programmed by its genes to maximize reproductive self-interest. You are a bubble of psychology, a mind (whether brain-based or not) separate from other minds and separate from matter. Or you are a soul encased in flesh, separate from the world and separate from other souls. Or you are a mass, a conglomeration of particles operating according to the impersonal forces of physics.

Why do things happen? Again, the impersonal forces of physics act upon a generic material substrate of fundamental particles. All phenomena are the result of these mathematically determined interactions. Intelligence, order, purpose, and design are illusions; underneath it all is merely a purposeless jumble of forces and masses. Any phenomenon, all of movement, all of life, is the result of the sum total of forces acting upon objects.

What is the purpose of life? There is no purpose, only cause. The universe is at bottom blind and dead. Thought is but an electrochemical impulse; love but a hormonal cascade that rewires our brains. The only purpose of life (other than what we manufacture ourselves) is simply to live, to survive and reproduce, to maximize rational self-interest. Since we are fundamentally separate from each other, my self-interest is very likely at the expense of your self-interest. Everything that is not-self is at best indifferent to our well-being, at worst hostile.

What is human nature? To protect ourselves against this hostile universe of competing individuals and impersonal forces, we must exercise as much control as possible. We seek out anything that furthers that aim; for example, money, status, security, information, and power-all those things we call "worldly." At the very foundation of our nature, our motivations, and our desires, is what can only be called evil. That is what a ruthless maximizer of self-interest is.

What, therefore, is sacred? Since the blind, ruthless pursuit of self-interest is antisocial, it is important to overcome our biological programming and pursue "higher things." A holy person doesn't succumb to the desires of the flesh. He or she takes the path of self-denial, of discipline, ascending into the realm of spirit or, in the secular version of this quest, into the realm of reason and the mind, principles and ethics. For the religious, to be sacred is to be otherworldly; the soul is separate from the body, and God lives high above the earth. Despite their superficial opposition, science and religion have agreed: the sacred is not of this world.

Who are we as a people? We are a special kind of animal, the apex of evolution, possessing brains that allow the cultural as well as the genetic transfer of information. We are unique in having (in the religious view) a soul or (in the scientific view) a rational mind. In our mechanical universe we alone possess consciousness and the wherewithal to mold the world according to our design. The only limit to our ability to do so is that amount of force we can harness and the precision with which we can apply it. The more we are able to do so, the better off we are in this indifferent or hostile universe, the more comfortable and secure.

Where have we come from and where are we going? We started out as naked, ignorant animals, barely hanging on to survival, living lives that were nasty, brutish, and short. Fortunately, thanks to our big brains, science replaced superstition and technology replaced ritual. We ascended to become the lords and possessors of nature, domesticating plants and animals, harnessing natural forces, conquering diseases, laying bare the deepest secrets of the universe. Our destiny is to complete that conquest: to free ourselves from labor, from disease, from death itself, to ascend to the stars and leave nature behind altogether.

Throughout this book I will refer to this worldview as the Story of Separation, the old story, or sometimes outgrowths from it: the Story of Ascent, the program of control, and so forth.

The answers to these questions are culturally dependent, yet they immerse us so completely that we have seen them as reality itself. These answers are changing today, along with everything built atop them-which basically means our entire civilization. That is why we sometimes get the vertiginous feeling that the whole world is falling apart. Seeing the emptiness of what once seemed so real, practical, and enduring, we stand as if at an abyss. What's next? Who am I? What's important? What is the purpose of my life? How can I be an effective agent of healing? The old answers are fading as the Story of the People that once answered them crumbles around us.

This book is a guide from the old story, through the empty space between stories, and into a new story. It addresses the reader as a subject of this transition personally, and as an agent of transition-for other people, for our society, and for our planet.

Like the crisis, the transition we face goes all the way to the bottom. Internally, it is nothing less than a transformation in the experience of being alive. Externally, it is nothing less than a transformation of humanity's role on planet Earth.

I do not offer this book as someone who has completed this transition himself. Far from it. I have no more authority to write this book than any other man or woman. I am not an avatar or a saint, I am not channeling ascended masters or ETs, I have no unusual psychic powers or intellectual genius, I have not passed through any remarkable hardship or ordeal, I have no especially deep spiritual practice or shamanic training. I am an ordinary man. You will, therefore, have to take my words on their own merits.

And if my words fulfill their intention, which is to catalyze a next step, big or small, into the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible, my very ordinariness becomes highly significant. It shows how close we all are, all of us ordinary humans, to a profound transformation of consciousness and being. If I, an ordinary man, can see it, we must be almost there.
Next Chapter: Breakdown

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Chapter 1: Separation | Charles Eisenstein

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Sometimes I feel nostalgic for the cultural mythology of my youth, a world in which there was nothing wrong with soda pop, in which the Super Bowl was important, in which America was bringing democracy to the world, in which the doctor could fix you, in which science was going to make life better and ...

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The Energy 202: Trump and Democrats marked Earth Day very differently

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The Energy 202: Trump and Democrats marked Earth Day very differently

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Climate change or thriving economy - can we have both?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/04/23/the-energy-202-trump-and-democrats-marked-earth-day-very-differently/5ada67a330fb043711926807/?utm_term=.76775bafbd37

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Sense about Science is a campaigning charity which "advocate openness and honesty about research findings, and work to ensure the public interest in sound science and evidence is recognised in public discussion and policymaking."
http://senseaboutscience.org/
They are currently involved with a campaign, AllTrials, that is trying to get full access to results from clinical trials for medicine. Here is a TEDx talk about the AllTrials campaign

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The hidden side of clinical trials | Sile Lane | TEDxMadrid

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Theory U is a holistic project management strategy working with the idea, that in order to arrive at an optimal solution we need to go through a process of metamorphosis in which we need to 'presence' ourselves to let a potential future emerge, it shares resemblance to the socratic midwifery method for birthing knowledge in other people. I think both work out of an idea that the universe is moral. http://www.strategies-for-managing-change.com/theory-u.html

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Financing Industry Plans to Bankroll Sustainability

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Financing Industry Plans to Bankroll Sustainability

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"The aim is to raise awareness among local authorities, civil society organisations, businesses, private investors and philanthropies about the investment needs for climate action in urban areas and the available financing solutions"
https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/business/finance/financing-industry-gears-up-to-bankroll-a-more-sustainable-future

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'Interdisciplinarity: Practical approach to advancing education for sustainability and for the Sustainable Development Goals'

An article which underlines the role of interdisciplinarity in education for sustainability

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Interdisciplinarity: Practical approach to advancing education for sustainability and for the Sustainable Development Goals

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The need for a more sustainable world was unanimously acknowledged by United Nations members in September 2015, when 17 Sustainable Development Goals ...

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Actualizing sustainability goals comes down to making sure the right people are doing the job

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Actualizing sustainability goals comes down to making sure the right people are doing the job

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Sustainability goals will not be realized if those employed do not actually value them--by establishing a clear company culture, HR departments can better hire those that are not only talented but like-minded, in order to more effectively achieve company goals.

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Numerous studies have demonstrated the value that Millennials and Gen Z put on finding purpose in their work - although in fact this point applies to workers of all ages. Companies are still adapting to the expectations of new hires seeking to make a positive impact through their careers, and they are increasingly tasked by employees, jobseekers and even investors with articulating their social purpose and maintaining a high bar for integrity. While the HR team is on the frontlines of these demands from current and potential employees, the sustainability team often owns the programs that can help make staff feel good about their work.

At the same time, recent movements calling for resolution on pay equity, sexual harassment in the workplace, workforce inclusion and diversity, and CEO compensation are just a few examples of how sustainability concerns have come home to roost. In the wake of these shifts, your sustainability team may find itself investigating how your company is performing when it comes to providing good jobs and meaningful diversity and inclusion programs. Addressing these challenges, which are deeply rooted in workplace culture, requires close partnership with your human resources (HR) team.

While you and your colleagues already may have close relationships with the HR function through collaboration on employee engagement and volunteerism, companies are increasingly recognizing the need for deeper partnership between these two functions to better build and sustain an organization where employees are happy, motivated and ethical.

The HR and sustainability teams hold different but complementary responsibilities when it comes to building and maintaining a workplace culture. Your sustainability team often may be tasked with articulating corporate "purpose" and "values," while your HR team holds most of the keys to bringing these values to life, through identifying and recruiting diverse talent, ensuring employee well-being, engaging and retaining employees, and establishing incentive programs. Separately, HR teams may find that their work is driven primarily by compliance concerns, while sustainability teams may struggle to reach the company's employees with sustainability messages and initiatives.

Working together, sustainability and HR can better address emerging challenges related to good jobs, equity and ethics and meet the needs of your employee base. Here are some emerging issues you may want to partner with your colleagues in HR on:

Good jobs: As movements for good jobs gain momentum, companies must consider what they are offering in the way of wages and benefits, job security and quality of working life to remain competitive. Recent investigations into the huge gap between CEO and worker pay ratios raise concerns about growing inequality. Calls for living wages, such as the "Fight for $15" in the U.S., are also heating up. In response to these, IKEA recently hiked its minimum pay to offer a fair wage to all employees nationwide. Our report on Good Jobs and the Changing Nature of Work recommends business leaders take action on additional emerging areas, including workforce transitions due to automation and improving job quality for an increasingly part-time and contract workforce in the digital age.

Equity: Companies are asked by employees, investors and customers about their inclusion and diversity performance and efforts to empower women in the workplace more. This extends beyond representation into questions of equity in pay, access to mentorship and advancement opportunities, and diversity of top management and boards. For example, pressure is mounting to close the pay gap between male and female employees, which has helped inspire new commitments and disclosures from companies such as Adobe and Starbucks, who have overhauled their compensation practices in support of equal pay. As another example, Nielsen is both championing diverse and inclusive employment within its own company and in its supply chains through its participation in the Global Impact Sourcing Coalition.

Ethics: In our recent report on the Future of Business Ethics (PDF), we note that no single department can own responsibility for installing and maintaining an ethical culture in an organization. Human resources, ethics and compliance, and sustainability teams need to work together to create cultures of integrity. And cultural change is precisely what is required to respond to growing concerns about workplace ethics, including increased concern over consumer and employee data leaks and breaches and revelations of wide-spread inaction on workplace sexual harassment highlighted by the #MeToo movement, among other issues.

New partnership opportunities can emerge when HR teams are embraced as agents of sustainability change and impact within organizations. Companies that support collaboration between their sustainability and HR functions to lead cultural change give both teams a seat at the strategy table, with decision-making authority on an agenda that includes good jobs, equity and ethics.

As a sustainability leader, your team can facilitate this partnership by hosting regular meetings and calls with HR sustainability champions, diversity councils and employee resource groups, creating a space for cross-learning and sharing. You can sponsor HR teams to attend relevant sustainability-focused events and support HR team initiatives with your expertise, access to internal and external networks, and willingness to collaborate.

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Why human resources is your sustainability ally

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Numerous studies have demonstrated the value that Millennials and Gen Z put on finding purpose in their work - although in fact this point applies to workers of all ages.

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"Confusing and emotionally charged, Sustainability is an aspirational concept that should not be abandoned, but re-framed as a tool for positive change."

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"Confusing and emotionally charged, Sustainability is an aspirational concept that should not be abandoned, but re-framed as a tool for positive change."

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A good example of why we need interdisciplinary analysises of sustainability:

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Confusing and emotionally charged, Sustainability is an aspirational concept that should not be abandoned, but re-framed as a tool for positive change.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "sustainability?"

I'm guessing something along the lines of: the color green, recycling, solar panels, eco-friendly, polar bears, tree hugging, nature and stuff made out of paper (bonus for brown paper).

Over the years, I've led hundreds of workshops and countless talks on the topic of myth-busting sustainability. At many of these, I've asked the same question about sustainability, and most people come up with the same types of responses. This pre-framed and overwhelmingly common interpretation of what "sustainability" means, is based on a very narrow media-generated and business-serving perspective of the term.

Even more interesting than what images are conjured up, is how the word makes people feel.

When you hear it, or read it, how do you feel? Annoyed? Confused? Frustrated? Ambitious? Ambiguous? Anxious? Excited? Scared? Does it evoke an eye-roll or a "whatever" feeling? The term "sustainability" has a tendency to induce fear or frustrated emotive responses. This is quite ironic when you consider that the concept is all about aspiring to achieve a better now than we currently have.

I feel optimistic about the possibilities that such an ambitious and admirable social aspiration holds. For the past decade I have been working to break the shackles that this word seems to bind itself to. It is frustrating when it's used to describe absolutely everything from toilet paper to cars. And lets be honest, it gets flogged to death by corporations and the media wanting to cash in on a term that has emotional leverage. I once heard a reporter refer to "sustainable football," and I'm still trying to figure out what that might actually entail.

Through my work, I have seen many people express a feeling of anxiety and confusion about sustainability. This is not at all surprising given that the majority of the framing around the need to act sustainably is done by evoking fear and insisting it is a moral imperative. Studies show that fear-framing is a sticky approach to making change, as it can demotivate people to participate and thus have the opposite effect, causing disengagement (also, this).

Professor George Lakoff from UC Berkley, has done extensive explorations into the effects of fear-framing on public policy and engagement. Lakoff proposes that frames are the invisible scaffolding that structure thinking and actions, and that re-framing is social change. Thus, change requires dominant frames to be challenged through the act of re-framing.

A recent article in The Guardian said it perfectly, " What we need are social entrepreneurs who hack the hell out of the current system, destroy it and create new systems where the externalities are regenerative, sustainable, just and happy."

A lot of the emotional issues around the word "sustainability" stem from the ambiguity of its meaning. Clearly it's meant to invoke the concept of sustaining or continuing something. But it is often colloquially used as an abbreviation for the idea of sustainable development, which was first officially written about in the aspirational document from the 1980's called the Brundtland Report. It was established as a reaction to evolving critical environmental and social issues of the day: oil prices were rising in the 1970's, and at the same time more people were beginning to understand the limits to growth and the feedback loops of cause and effect (and how these played out with regard to environmental degradation and human health).

In 1983, the UN appointed Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Prime Minister of Norway, as the chairperson of the World Commission on Environment and Development (which was later renamed The Brundtland Commission). Brundtland worked to achieve the ambitious objectives set out by the UN - to rally and unify the UN countries in embracing what was coined as "sustainable development." Its meaning was defined in her seminal report Our Common Future, as this definition, if what sustainability is all about:

" Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." - Our Common Future, 1987

A testament to its aspirational concepts, and the framing outlined in the report, sustainable development got really popular. Business and governments started to use it in their language ALL THE TIME. Sustainable this, sustainable that... corporate social responsibility reports and sustainability task forces popped up all over the place. Traction was building, and while some players were doing honorable jobs with their "sustainable development" initiatives, other efforts with the same name were really not so great. As it often happens when a concept gains popularity, the term started to be used as a buzz word, slowly losing its integrity and ending up a victim of its own success. "Sustainable development" started to get drained of its potency and became down right annoying - an overused concept devoid of meaning for many, and framed as a loose concept of "doing good" for others.

Sustainability is really about 3 very simple and important things: social, economic and environmental well-being.

Sustainability is the ability to consider and design outcomes in business, and society at large, that effect these three things in positive and hopefully regenerative ways. As opposed to maintaining the status quo, which is often devoid of any consideration for the social and environmental consequences of our actions, and thus perpetuates purely economic motivations.

All emotions aside, the rational approach to sustainability is to take a holistic and considerate approach to the decisions that we make in business, government and in our personal lives. It's not a mandate for hugging trees, it's a pre-requisite for participating effectively in this planet's future, and it's a damn good aspiration to have. Really the only alternative to sustainability is to NOT think about the consequences of our actions - and that's pretty reckless.

You don't need to be a climate scientist, an activist or even a liberal to get behind sustainability. To start, all you need to do is consider consequences. For example, would you leave your stove on when you're heading off for vacation? Or, would you let your kids learn to drive by themselves? When we make choices, we consider the potential impacts of our actions and, in this case, inaction - that's what Sustainability is really about, considering and designing for a future that avoids the catastrophes that inaction could potentially result in.

For all those who still feel confused, anxious or annoyed by the term sustainability, consider the alternative and think through the powerful aspirations that such a concept could have if it were respected across society (you might also want to take my class on Sustainability). If we embrace the notion of making sure our decisions don't have negative effects on people, the planet and the prosperity shared by all of us, imagine what a positive future we could embrace.

This is the critical part: a positive re-framing of the potential future we can share, as a species, on this awesome planet.

Sustainability is an important collective aspiration. It's a remedy against the eventuality of us having to admit to our kids that we were too busy buying new smart phones every 15-18 months to give a fuck about the systems and services that sustain life on the incredible planet we share. It's an opportunity for innovation, for working within the parameters of the planet and considerately evolving the way we do things, for re-imagining the archaic and outdated systems that were designed at a time when we knew less about the eco-systems that provide air, water and food to all of us.

Personally, I'm sticking to the aspiration of making things better. Rather than perpetuating our messy collective problems, I'll keep innovating, looking for opportunities to intervene for positive change, searching for solutions, and doing whatever I can to push for the type of future I want to live in - which is, for lack of a better term, sustainable. And if we get there, then we can talk about being regenerative.

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I teach and write about how to make positive social and environmental change. If you liked this article, you might want to check out my classes on Sustainability, the Circular Economy, and Making Change.

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The Case for Re-Framing Sustainability - Disruptive Design - Medium

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Confusing and emotionally charged, Sustainability is an aspirational concept that should not be abandoned, but re-framed as a tool for positive change. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "sustainability?"

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Interdisciplinary tools for behaviour change

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Interdisciplinary tools for behaviour change

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYFAJMdRCJw

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Interdiciprinary systems promote sustainability in higher education

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Interdiciprinary systems promote sustainability in higher education

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Cross-curriculum system helps students solve problems in real world and bridge between academic studies and practice. At the same time, collaboration with organizations and agencies outside of university is beneficial for students to maintain high motivation toward studying instead of waiting until they earn a degree.
https://www.educationdive.com/news/interdisciplinary-systems-promote-sustainability-in-higher-ed/444228/

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Manage as You Would Want to Be Managed: Why an Equal Value Model is the Future of Ethical Outsourcing

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Manage as You Would Want to Be Managed: Why an Equal Value Model is the Future of Ethical Outsourcing

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The author argues that a growing industry of international outsourcing has created an “invisible” workforce, allowing questionable values and management ethics to go unchecked.

An "equal values model" is suggested as measure to avoid moral grey zones, consequently benefiting freelancers and contractors, and higher quality work and results for the particular business utilizing this model.

https://www.hrtechnologist.com/articles/recruitment-onboarding/manage-as-you-would-want-to-be-managed-why-we-think-the-equal-value-model-is-the-future-of-ethical-outsourcing/

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Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research

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Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research

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The Cambridge Analytica controversy has started the conversation on how important ethical reviews are for academic research. Some see ethical reviews as a threat to academic autonomy, while others see it as a productive and necessary part of research.

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Working out ethical implications forces students to explain what may be vaguely defined plans in a concrete form. Shutterstock

When the Facebook data of 50m users was collected by Cambridge academic Aleksandr Kogan, his actions reportedly came to the attention of colleagues who regarded his subsequent use of the data as unethical. The university revealed that Kogan had unsuccessfully applied for ethics approval in 2015 to use data collected on behalf of GSR, a commercial enterprise he set up, for use in his academic research. He was reapplying for approval when Facebook requested that the data he had gathered be deleted. These applications are currently the focus of a freedom of information request.

Responses to the Cambridge Analytica controversy have suggested that the rights of Facebook users would have been protected if the research had indeed been carried out under the jurisdiction of a university regulatory regime. Sanctioned university research has also been contrasted with what one of Kogan's academic colleagues reportedly called a "'get rich quick' scheme" in an internal email. The implication is that the oversight of research ethics is a key part of what makes the work of academics different from that produced commercially - a civilising of research practice that other professions may not always live up to.

Yet it is notable that ethical review is not often regarded so favourably within universities. The growing bureaucratisation and regulation of research ethics within UK higher education institutions is seen by many as an unwelcome development. The requirement to obtain ethics approval is often regarded as a threat to academic autonomy and even as something sinister (" ethics creep ").

The ethical review process is seen as demanding because it requires researchers to submit details of their projects for scrutiny before recruiting participants or collecting data. In the case of projects that present minimal risk of harm, this may be a "light touch" review involving one or two peer reviewers. Or it might involve more intensive levels of scrutiny by a full research ethics committee. It is underpinned by a concern with the protection of "human subjects" (a term that reflects the historical influence of medical research - with its experimental subjects - on the ethics review process).

Critical voices

In one of the strongest academic attacks on the ethical regulation of social research, Robert Dingwall described this growing intrusion as censorship, an assault on democracy and an extension of a growing surveillance society. Documenting the "perverse consequences" of the actions of Institutional Review Boards in the US and ethics committees in the UK, Dingwall showed how these review boards have sometimes threatened research by demanding requirements that are impossible to satisfy - where illiterate research participants, for example, are required to read and sign informed consent forms.

Hostility towards the ethics review process has perhaps been exacerbated by the pressures that academics now face to meet the potentially toxic demands of the neoliberal " accelerated academy " - to publish or perish, engage in consultancy activity, obtain impact and bring in research funding. Tight deadlines and increasing pressures mean that regulatory requirements can become barriers, rather than opportunities to reflect on practice. As I have experienced firsthand as chair of an ethics committee, within this competitive environment those involved in ethical review can face intense pressure from colleagues to speed up the process.

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The situation is not helped when institutional explanations of why ethical review is necessary emphasise insurance and liability issues, denial of responsibility for non-authorised research, and penalties for non-approval - rather than the protection of subjects and issues of harm and risk. This promotes the idea that research regulation is driven primarily by legal concerns. While this may be partly true, and these messages might also have practical value, such explanations largely characterise ethical review in negative terms.

Missing opportunity

It is of course sensible to maintain scepticism in the face of bureaucratic developments that may be over cautious and which can block innovation. What is being missed here, however, is the idea that the ethics review process can itself be a useful experience. The Research Ethics Guidebook, for instance, suggests applicants can use it as "a mechanism for discussing ethics within your team, or with your supervisor" or "a way of preparing ... for fieldwork".

In my experience, in the review of dissertation projects, the process is productive because it forces students to explain what may be vaguely defined plans in specific, concrete form. The very act of applying for ethics approval can also bring to the surface issues that might be lurking within research designs but may not have been recognised even by experienced scholars. There is therefore potential to reconsider how the review process is approached by educators and institutions. But such positive aspects have so far been neglected in many discussions.

So, while it isn't very fashionable to make a case for the value of ethical review, I think this is exactly what we should be doing. To look beyond its regulatory intent and consider its potential value for both students and academics. At the very least, the review process provides a forced opportunity to pause and reflect and - even if we can't preempt all the ethical issues that might arise - to sensitise researchers and students to the potential risks and challenges of research. As we have seen in recent days with the cautionary tale that is unfolding before our eyes, this can be particularly important in the context of online research.

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Facebook data: why ethical reviews matter in academic research

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When the Facebook data of 50m users was collected by Cambridge academic Aleksandr Kogan, his actions reportedly came to the attention of colleagues who regarded his subsequent use of the data as unethical. The university revealed that Kogan had unsuccessfully applied for ethics approval in 2015 to use data collected on behalf of GSR, a commercial enterprise he set up, for use in his academic research.

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"STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach. Rather than teach the four disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, STEM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications "

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(Image credit: Portra via Getty Images)

STEM education is a teaching approach that combines science, technology, engineering and math. Its recent successor, STEAM, also incorporates the arts, which have the "ability to expand the limits of STEM education and application," according to Stem Education Guide. STEAM is designed to encourage discussions and problem-solving among students, developing both practical skills and appreciation for collaborations, according to the Institution for Art Integration and STEAM.

Rather than teach the five disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, STEAM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications.

According to the U.S. Department of Education "In an ever-changing, increasingly complex world, it's more important than ever that our nation's youth are prepared to bring knowledge and skills to solve problems, make sense of information, and know how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions."

In 2009, the Obama administration announced the " Educate to Innovate" campaign to motivate and inspire students to excel in STEAM subjects. This campaign also addresses the inadequate number of teachers skilled to educate in these subjects.

The Department of Education now offers a number of STEM-based programs, including research programs with a STEAM emphasis, STEAM grant selection programs and general programs that support STEAM education.

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Education awarded $141 million in new grants and $437 million to continue existing STEAM projects a breakdown of grants can be seen in their investment report.

The importance of STEM and STEAM education

(Image credit: selimaksan via Getty Images)

STEAM education is crucial to meet the needs of a changing world. According to an article from iD Tech, millions of STEAM jobs remain unfilled in the U.S., therefore efforts to fill this skill gap are of great importance. According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics there is a projected growth of STEAM-related occupations of 10.5% between 2020 and 2030 compared to 7.5% in non-STEAM-related occupations. The median wage in 2020 was also higher in STEAM occupations ($89,780) compared to non-STEAM occupations ($40,020).

Between 2014 and 2024, employment in computer occupations is projected to increase by 12.5 percent between 2014 and 2024, according to a STEAM occupation report. With projected increases in STEAM-related occupations, there needs to be an equal increase in STEAM education efforts to encourage students into these fields otherwise the skill gap will continue to grow.

STEAM jobs do not all require higher education or even a college degree. Less than half of entry-level STEAM jobs require a bachelor's degree or higher, according to skills gap website Burning Glass Technologies. However, a four-year degree is incredibly helpful with salary - the average advertised starting salary for entry-level STEAM jobs with a bachelor's requirement was 26 percent higher than jobs in the non-STEAM fields.. For every job posting for a bachelor's degree recipient in a non-STEAM field, there were 2.5 entry-level job postings for a bachelor's degree recipient in a STEAM field.

STEAM blended learning

What separates STEAM from traditional science and math education is the blended learning environment and showing students how the scientific method can be applied to everyday life. It teaches students computational thinking and focuses on the real-world applications of problem-solving. As mentioned before, STEAM education begins while students are very young:

Elementary school - STEAM education focuses on the introductory level STEAM courses, as well as awareness of the STEAM fields and occupations. This initial step provides standards-based structured inquiry-based and real-world problem-based learning, connecting all four of the STEAM subjects. The goal is to pique students' interest into them wanting to pursue the courses, not because they have to. There is also an emphasis placed on bridging in-school and out-of-school STEAM learning opportunities.

Middle school - At this stage, the courses become more rigorous and challenging. Student awareness of STEAM fields and occupations is still pursued, as well as the academic requirements of such fields. Student exploration of STEAM-related careers begins at this level, particularly for underrepresented populations.

High school - The program of study focuses on the application of the subjects in a challenging and rigorous manner. Courses and pathways are now available in STEAM fields and occupations, as well as preparation for post-secondary education and employment. More emphasis is placed on bridging in-school and out-of-school STEAM opportunities.

Much of the STEAM curriculum is aimed toward attracting underrepresented populations. There is a significant disparity in the female to male ratio when it comes to those employed in STEAM fields, according to Stem Women. Approximately 1 in 4 STEAM graduates is female.

(Image credit: SolStock via Getty Images)

Inequalities in STEAM education

Ethnically, people from Black backgrounds in STEAM education in the UK have poorer degree outcomes and lower rates of academic career progression compared to other ethnic groups, according to a report from The Royal Society. Although the proportion of Black students in STEAM higher education has increased over the last decade, they are leaving STEAM careers at a higher rate compared to other ethnic groups.

"These reports highlight the challenges faced by Black researchers, but we also need to tackle the wider inequalities which exist across our society and prevent talented people from pursuing careers in science." President of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith said.

Asian students typically have the highest level of interest in STEAM. According to the Royal Society report in 2018/19 18.7% of academic staff in STEAM were from ethnic minority groups, of these groups 13.2% were Asian compared to 1.7% who were Black.

Additional resources

If you want to learn more about why STEAM is so important check out this informative article from the University of San Diego. Explore some handy STEAM education teaching resources courtesy of the Resilient Educator. Looking for tips to help get children into STEAM? Forbes has got you covered.

Bibliography

Lee, Meggan J., et al. 'If you aren't White, Asian or Indian, you aren't an engineer': racial microaggressions in STEM education." International Journal of STEM Education 7.1 (2020): 1-16.

STEM Occupations: Past, Present, And Future. Stella Fayer, Alan Lacey, and Audrey Watson. A report. 2017.

Institution for Art Integration and STEAM What is STEAM education?

Barone, Ryan, 'The state of STEM education told through 18 stats', iD Tech.

U.S. Department of Education, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, including Computer Science.

'STEM sector must step up and end unacceptable disparities in Black staff', The Royal Society. A report, March 25, 2021.

'Percentages of Women in STEM Statistics' Stemwomen.com

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STEM education, now also known as STEAM, is a teaching approach that combines science, technology, engineering, the arts and math.

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Local schools provide programs on sustainability is a way to train students for the jobs of the future while helping create environmentally friendly policies. Students pursuing the associate degree in applied science learn about renewable energy, green building technology and environmental technology through courses covering topics like energy management, waste reduction, renewable energy, site assessment and environmental responsibility.

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VOCATION FORMATION: Students in Warren Wilson College's sustainability oriented degree programs - which include both undergraduate and graduate options - are drawn by the opportunity to build relevant job skills they can leverage to make a positive impact on society and the planet, according to Amy Knisely, chair of the college's environmental studies department. Photo courtesy of Warren Wilson College

For Asheville-area colleges and universities, providing degree programs on sustainability is a way to train students for the jobs of the future while helping create environmentally friendly policies. Several local campuses now offer sustainability-related programs ranging from certificates and associate degrees to master's degrees. Some of those programs have been in place for several years; others are just getting started.

At Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Heath Moody, who chairs the school's construction management, sustainability and construction science technologies department, says such programs aren't just about a different way of looking at things.

"This is about looking to the future," he explains. "We know climate change is real. There's no debate in the science community that climate change is an issue. I think we're seeing the last of the fossil fuels, and in my mind, soon they will be as obsolete as running a lamp on whale oil is today."

Many options

For the past eight years, the school's sustainability technologies program has been growing both in popularity and in its ability to place students into full-time jobs.

Students pursuing the associate degree in applied science learn about renewable energy, green building technology and environmental technology through courses covering topics like energy management, waste reduction, renewable energy, site assessment and environmental responsibility. In 2013 (the first year for which Moody has data), the program had just eight students. Today there are 21 full-time students and many part-timers.

"We have a lot of part-time students that come here to train for a new job," says Moody. "What we're finding is that they will take a couple of courses and start to look around for companies that need employees with their skills, and the companies will just hire them right up."

Meanwhile, over at UNC Asheville, students may choose to focus on sustainability, but even those doing coursework in other fields can take sustainability classes. Additionally, the college's McCullough Fellowship program provides funding, materials support and a faculty stipend for students engaged in projects in the Asheville area involving things like land use and conservation, urban planning and sustainable agriculture.

And Warren Wilson College recently signed a deal that allows students in its Advantage Program to pursue sustainability-related master's degrees at partner schools in other areas after just three years of undergraduate courses at Warren Wilson. One of those partners is Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.

"The 3+2 is an incredible opportunity to accelerate a leadership career in sustainability, whether in business, nonprofits or government," says Eban Goodstein, director of graduate programs in sustainability at Bard. "Our 3+2 graduates are entering high-impact, purpose-driven careers and making a difference in their 20s."

Students in the program can pursue a master of science degree in either environmental policy (which focuses on things like environmental science policy and natural resource economics) or in climate science and policy (which looks at the interplay among climate systems, ecosystems and agricultural systems).

Training for tomorrow's jobs

The 3+2 programs aim to address various needs, says Amy Knisley, who chairs Warren Wilson's environmental studies department.

"Colleges like Warren Wilson and Bard are working to be responsive to the job market out there, and these degree programs allow students to more quickly and effectively enter into the workplace," she says. Employers, notes Knisley, "have told us that these are necessary skills for the future." Students and their families, she continues, also want to ensure that the education they're getting will be applicable in the coming, more environmentally conscious economy.

Graduates with either degree might work in the public sector, helping governments develop sustainable policies; in the private sector, helping corporations identify suitable sustainability practices; or even in an educational setting, teaching others about sustainability at zoos, public parks and other environmentally significant institutions.

GREEN TEAM: A-B Tech's sustainability related courses empower students to implement sustainable policies through green building and installing clean energy equipment. Photo courtesy of A-B Tech

Meanwhile, the students in A-B Tech's sustainability programs will be the ones who'll implement those policies. "Our students will be the construction managers ... the ones installing solar panel systems and alternative fuel systems," says Moody.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, sustainability jobs are one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country, along with health care. Between 2016 and 2026, the bureau predicts, nine out of 10 new U.S. jobs will be in the service sector, to the tune of more than 10.5 million jobs during that decade.

But sustainability is only one component of the broader green jobs category, which spans such areas as water conservation, biofuels, sustainable forestry, geothermal energy and recycling. Nationally, the median annual salaries in those fields range from about $30,000 to more than $160,000; sustainability jobs average about $45,000 a year.

More traditional trades may also offer possibilities.

"There are a lot of people retiring out of the trades," notes Moody. "This presents tremendous opportunity for the younger generation to come in and apply sustainability practices within areas like construction management and HVAC."

Hope for the future

Sometimes, the training program recognizes a need even if there aren't any actual job openings yet.

"We were hearing that if you had an electric car, there was no mechanic in the area that could work on it," says Carol Ann Lydon, chair of sustainability efforts at Blue Ridge Community College. The school now has several charging stations and several electric cars on campus for students to work on.

But there's more at stake than just finding a job, school officials say.

"From a Warren Wilson perspective, we, as a college, draw and educate and graduate a lot of motivated, purposeful, mission-driven students," Knisley explains. "Moving even more of these passionate students into the world with master's degrees will make them even more impactful. I think you'll see them begin to shift the landscape when it comes to policymaking and investments, and that their awareness of sustainability will begin to increasingly affect the bigger systems of economics and the government. And down the road, those shifts in the bigger systems will result in a much larger cultural shift that will play out across the system as a whole."

Moody agrees. "These programs allow us to train people and put them in jobs they really care about," he says. "I think we'll see a massive movement at some point where we push aside all the politics and special interests to address the coming issues in a real way. ... A lot of our students are depressed because they don't see a pathway for moving beyond an oil economy ruled by those who make a living off of war and have a strange stranglehold on power in our country.

"I think programs like these give them hope that there is a better future out there, that there is a way out," he continues. "It's hope not only for our students but for our community. These programs will put them in meaningful jobs that address the issues facing our society."

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Future shock: Local schools' sustainability programs answer many needs

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For Asheville-area colleges and universities, providing degree programs on sustainability is a way to train students for the jobs of the future while helping create environmentally friendly policies. Several local campuses now offer sustainability-related programs ranging from certificates and associate degrees to master's degrees.

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Aldo Leopold was an American philosopher and author of 'A Sand County Almanac' (1949), a classic text of the environmental movement. His essay, 'The Land Ethic', provides a guideline to how changing our ethical framework could lead to systematic change.

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”

“All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts.The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants and animals, or collectively the land.”

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To work for society, data scientists need a hippocratic oath with teeth

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To work for society, data scientists need a hippocratic oath with teeth

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"Data scientists need to understand the weight of their influence and the limitations of their wisdom", says Cathy O'Neil.

She is suggesting a Hippocratic oath - an ethical code of conduct - for data scientists to follow, that would imbue data scientists with a moral conscience which would guide their thinking when designing systems and force them to consider the wider societal impact of their designs.

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One person unsurprised by the unfolding data scandals surrounding Cambridge Analytica and Facebook is Cathy O'Neil. In 2016 Cathy published her book Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. In the book O'Neil reveals how a silent bureaucracy governed by algorithms and big data is emerging across every corner of society.

This new bureaucracy is increasingly deciding who gets a job, who gets credit (and at what rate), who goes to prison and what information people read. Some of these systems may be making accurate decisions. However, Cathy argues that accuracy and efficiency alone are not sufficient metrics for success. Fairness, equity and other social considerations need to be built into the algorithms. Until this is done, these secretive and unaudited algorithms will continue to make unfair, bias and discriminatory decisions, on a systemic level.

Today, there is mounting evidence of this silent, discriminatory decision-making system in action. In the UK, one police force edited its algorithm after receiving complaints that it was unfairly targeting people from specific neighborhoods. And new research from Princeton on AI natural language applications, confirms that automated systems are not only making discriminatory decisions, they are also learning the language of human prejudice as well

One of the most influential ideas to emerge from O'Neil's book is the idea of creating a 'Hippocratic oath' - an ethical code of conduct - for data scientists to follow. The idea is to imbue data scientists with a moral conscience which would guide their thinking when designing systems and force them to consider the wider societal impact of their designs.

Since O'Neil proposed the idea, a host of initiatives have sprung up, offering their own version. Within the fields of AI and machine learning, the biggest tech companies have formed the Partnership on AI and Google's DeepMind has its own AI ethics unit. However few of these efforts have yet had much influence. We caught up with Cathy to explore how to give a data scientist Hippocratic oath some teeth.

"We have a total disconnect between the people building the algorithms and the people who are actually affected by them"
Tom Upchurch: Cathy, remind us why a Hippocratic oath for data scientists is so important?
Cathy O'Neil: First, I just want to make it clear that a Hippocratic oath alone is insufficient for the task that lies ahead, because at the end of the day data scientists are not corporations. They work within corporations, and they get fired if they don't do what the corporations tell them to do. So, I don't want to make it seem like once this ethical framework has been set up we're going to be good, because it's just not true.

Having said that, so many of the data scientists that are in work right now think of themselves as technicians and think that they can blithely follow textbook definitions of optimisation, without considering the wider consequences of their work. So, when they choose to optimise to some kind of ratio of false positives or false negatives, for example, they are not required by their bosses or their educational history to actually work out what that will mean to the people affected by the algorithms they're optimising. Which means that they don't really have any kind of direct connection to the worldly consequences of their work.

Just as an example, I talked to a guy who has a PhD in statistics who built a recidivism risk algorithm for a state prison system and I asked him, "do you ever use race as an attribute to determine recidivism risk?" and he said, "Oh, no. I would never do that." Then I asked, "Well, do you ever use Zipcode?" and he was like, "Oh, I sometimes do, because it makes it so much more accurate."

What he's exposing there is that what he actually cares about is accuracy, rather than some kind of concept of fairness or equity. I then asked, "Is there anybody at the state prison system who talks to you about which attributes are acceptable versus unacceptable?" He said, "No, they just trust me because I have a PhD." Then, I said, "Well, in that case do you feel personally responsible for the consequences of your algorithm?" and he said, "No, I just built the algorithm. They decide how to use it."

I feel like that's a perfect story because it's also the paradigm that we're working with. We have a total disconnect between the people building the algorithms and the people who are actually affected by them. That's true on a scientific level, between those who understand big data techniques versus those who see it as voodoo or magic. But it's also true in a socioeconomic sense.

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TU: What should be the core principles lying behind the oath?
CO: First, it needs to stop a specific mindset where we think that data people are magical and that they have any kind of wisdom. What they actually have is a technical ability without wisdom.

Then, I think the biggest thrust of a Hippocratic oath would be to realise that we have the ability and the potential to have an enormous amount of influence on society but without the wisdom to understand the true impact of this influence. So, we have to ask the relevant experts for that wisdom and for that understanding and expertise.

The more I've thought about algorithms, the more I've realised that it's not even fair to ask about the ethics of an algorithm, because you really have to ask about the ethics of an algorithm in a given context.
TU: How would this be implemented practically?
CO: To make it more practical, I'm introducing a concept called the ethical matrix, which is a concept that I've borrowed from a moral philosopher, called Ben Mepham, who originally used it in the context of bioethics.

The ethical matrix is a framework to force people to think more broadly. The rows of the matrix includes all the stakeholders that may be impacted by a given algorithm. For example, in the case of the recidivism risk algorithm it will include the judge, it will include the prosecutor, it will include the defendant and it will include the general public.

Then, the columns of the matrix are the things that each of these stakeholders actually worry about. For example, the judge is going to worry about freeing someone who is dangerous to the public (a false negative.) Whereas the defendant's worrying about being punished unnecessarily for something they didn't or weren't going to do (a false positive).

The ethical matrix helps lay out all of these competing implications, motivations and considerations and allows data scientists to consider the bigger impact of their designs.

"Zuckerberg is begging for someone else to deal with the unintended consequences of Facebook's business model. He has basically said 'yes, you guys should regulate us, go ahead, because I can't solve this problem'"
TU: In your book you talk about the importance of building transparent systems that are continually improved by positive feed-back loops of data. Do these practical steps feature in your vision of an ethical code of conduct?
CO: Yes, they do. Essentially, I want to put the science into data science. I feel like we've called data science a science prematurely, because we as the public don't demand evidence that it works. So, we need to start demanding scientific evidence and testing to make sure this stuff is working.

How do we define "working"? I have three different questions to ask.

The first question is, are the algorithms that we deploy going to improve the human processes that they are replacing? Far too often we have algorithms that are thrown in with the assumptions that they're going to work perfectly, because after all they're algorithms, but they actually end up working much worse than the system that they're replacing. For example in Australia they implemented an algorithm that sent a bunch of ridiculously threatening letters to people saying that they had defrauded the Australian Government. That's a great example where they actually just never tested it to make sure it worked.

The second question is to ask, for whom is the algorithm failing? We need to be asking, "Does it fail more often for women than for men? Does it fail more often for minorities than for whites? Does it fail more often for old people than for young people?" Every single class should get a question and an answer. The big example I have for this one is the facial recognition software that the MIT Media Lab found worked much better for white men than black women. That is a no-brainer test that every single facial recognition software company should have done and it's embarrassing that they didn't do it.

The third category of question is simply, is this working for society? Are we tracking the mistakes of the system? Are we inputting these mistakes back into the algorithm so that it'll work better? Is it causing some other third unintended consequence? Is it destroying democracy? Is it making people worse off?

May's Davos speech exposed the emptiness in the UK's AI strategy
TU: How do you think your system will mix with an industry guided by the mantra "move fast and break things"? Can you see this being taken up?
CO: I can, because first of all, they can be standardised, so they can be part of a corporate checklist that every data science group has to abide by. It wouldn't be that hard to make them a standard approach.

The other thing is that the ethical matrix and the questions will only act as third party support. They will not threaten the 'secret sauce' or the hidden IP of an algorithm. One of the most common complaints you'll hear from companies is that they don't want to give away their secret sauce. They have this amazing algorithm that they want to protect. But nothing I just mentioned actually exposes those secrets.
TU: Although in your book you do mention that a key part of being transparent is allowing third party, independent auditing of algorithms. Wouldn't this expose the secret sauce?
CO: Just to be clear, I think the people that should be doing these tests are not the companies themselves - it should be third party auditors. I should also, in full disclosure mention, that I have started a company that does audits. So, I have been developing this framework with a business goal.

Just to be clear, if Facebook hired me to audit their algorithm, I could do that, but I wouldn't need their source code. I would need access to their black box and I would need them to perform tests with data. So, I would only need indirect access to their data, but I wouldn't need direct access to the source code of their data.
TU: Ever since you came out with this idea of the Hippocratic oath, there have been many separate initiatives set-up. But in medicine the Hippocratic oath has persisted because it is the Hippocratic oath. It is regarded globally as the definitive ethical standard for doctors and has become an important part of the ritual in making a doctor.
Is there room for more than one Hippocratic oath for data scientists?
CO: I think it would be better if there were one but obviously only if it was a good one!

I have been asked to sign a bunch of different letters of intention for this kind of thing and I have not signed any of them because I haven't found one that I think is sufficient.

The ones I have seen so far, are still dodging responsibility. At the end of the day, what we should be worried about isn't that this algorithm might be inefficient or might not maximise profits, but that somebody's rights have been violated.

I have, as of yet, not seen anything in any of those other codes of conduct or Hippocratic oath, that are this specific.

"Whilst this big data thing might be working for individual actors in a competitive marketplace, in a given industry, it is not necessarily working for the public"

TU: The medical Hippocratic oath formed over thousands of years. How long do you expect this new kind of moral conscience to take hold amongst data scientists?

CO: Well, I don't think we have thousands of years, but I am willing to wait ten years! I don't think it is going to happen overnight. I think it is going to require us to see the damage that algorithms can do, and we've started to see that. But we're still focusing on the wrong things. We're not measuring the actual damage being done to democracy, because it is hard to measure democracy. Instead, we'll focus on things like pedestrian deaths with self-driving cars. That is of course a tragedy when it happens, but it is not actually the biggest, systemic problem. The biggest problem is all the invisible failures of algorithms that we're not keeping track of at all.

TU: I got a sense from Weapons of Math Destruction that there is a conflict between profit seeking companies and a code of ethical standards. Is there a conflict emerging between the two?

CO: Yes, there is a conflict. But I would like to add, that at this point, Zuckerberg is begging for someone else to deal with the unintended consequences of Facebook's business model. He has basically said yes, you guys should regulate us, go ahead, because I can't solve this problem. It is getting kind of obvious that something needs to be done.

But the way I look at it is if you want to stick with the analogy of doctors, medicine was practiced for a long time by mystics and snake oil salesman that would look at someone, figure out what they're insecure about and sell them the thing that would make them the most profit at the smallest cost, whether it was actually helpful or not. The point is that when you don't optimise to ethics, you end up optimising away from ethics.

So, when Facebook optimises everything around keeping you on Facebook, they are optimising you to their own profit. As a result, they are optimising you away from things that we actually care about, like truth and civic engagement and civil disagreement. Because civil disagreement doesn't keep you on Facebook. Outrage keeps you on Facebook.

So, they end up optimising directly away from what we care about and so the answer is yes, absolutely there is a conflict.

AI has no place in the NHS if patient privacy isn't assured

TU: On the subject of changing corporate behaviour, in your book you talk about how IBM started to take a more progressive position over same sex marriages in the 1990s. You argue this was largely driven by the desire to attract the best and brightest talent, which included lots of gay and lesbian people.
This is an example where a company sought competitive advantage in taking a progressive and ethical position. Do you see any evidence to suggest that taking an ethical stance on data standards may soon become a source of competitive advantage for companies?
CO: That is a great question, and I think the answer is that it definitely depends on whether the company that is building and deploying the algorithm is consumer facing or not. In the case of Facebook, they are definitely consumer facing. To be sure, we are not the customers of Facebook, we are the product of Facebook, but we still have to go to Facebook for them to get our data.

So, in that case, the PR element of it forces them to behave better, at least it is supposed to. We will see if it actually happens. Zuckerberg has made promises in the past that he hasn't kept. But theoretically it is possible that public outrage will force Facebook to change.

In many other cases, they are not consumer facing organisations. Companies that build the algorithm to decide who to hire, do not care and don't have to respond to public outcry. There really probably isn't even an outcry because the effects are happening silently and the people that suffer from these algorithms are poorer, less powerful people.

TU: On the subject of regulation, who needs to be enforcing and backing up the ethical standards? Is there a particular institution out there at the moment, or does it need to be created?

CO: It needs to be created, or alternatively, every single regulator needs to have a division that audits algorithms. A lot of people have floated the idea of an FDA for algorithms and I think that is the kind of thing we should be thinking about. I think the FDA for algorithms would enforce those three kinds of tests, and the ethical matrix.

TU: How important is it that these new kinds of regulators have recourse to financial sanctions and penalties?

CO: I witnessed the pathetic response to the illegal goings-on of the banks during, before and even after the financial crisis and I saw the numerous settlements where penalty fees were charged that were less than the profits they made on their fraudulent dealing. I think it is fair to say that this is not a very strong incentive to keep them from doing it in the future.

So, I think the point is that you have to threaten these organisations with a meaningful and existential threat.
TU: Looking to the future, what do you see as the biggest challenges in getting this code of conduct and this framework widely adopted over the next ten years?
CO: The biggest obstacle in the next three years is Trump because he can't focus or concentrate on anything, never mind abstract threats to democracy. Not to mention that every political party benefits from the way politics are promoted online. So, they also have a conflict of interest.

I see this as the larger problem as well. Like the lobbyists for the healthcare industry, the lobbyists from insurance, the lobbyists from real estate. All these industries are benefitting from this. They are benefiting directly from being able to choose the winners and losers of their industries. It is an arms race. They always think they are winning and they're caught up in it.

It is definitely a test of democracy, because whilst this big data thing might be working for individual actors in a competitive marketplace, in a given industry, it is not necessarily working for the public. So, how is that going to play out? It is a real test and I don't know if America is going to lead, to be honest.

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To work for society, data scientists need a hippocratic oath with teeth

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One person unsurprised by the unfolding data scandals surrounding Cambridge Analytica and Facebook is Cathy O'Neil. In 2016 Cathy published her book Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. In the book O'Neil reveals how a silent bureaucracy governed by algorithms and big data is emerging across every corner of society.

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Global issues don’t live in separate boxes. Why no mention in Paris of refugees?

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Global issues don’t live in separate boxes. Why no mention in Paris of refugees?

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While the United Nations climate change talks in Paris struggled to elicit credible commitments, notably missing from the debate was "environmental displacement" - people fleeing their homes on account of natural disaster. As temperatures and sea levels rise, and land-use patterns change, there will be significant consequences for human mobility within and across borders.

However, public and media debate scarcely discussed the issue, and the only references in the Paris summit's negotiated outcome document are vague to the point of meaninglessness. This absence is especially striking in a year in which refugees and migration have otherwise been so high on the political agenda.

This political dissonance is of a piece with the compartmentalised way in which we approach many global issues. During a frenzied summer, media coverage and political attention focused almost exclusively on refugees. Now, with saturation point reached, the circus has moved on.

Climate change has, instead, become the de rigueur liberal issue of the day. Remarkably, the global focus on refugees was insufficient to influence the debate in Paris. When we shift our attention so dramatically, we risk missing important analytical connections and, with them, opportunities for meaningful solutions.

To be clear, the so-called European refugee crisis was certainly not caused by climate change. But it is symptomatic of a global protection crisis, with climate change as one key component. That crisis is partly the result of numbers: there are more people displaced around the world than at any time since the second world war. It is partly the result of political will: asylum is being undermined by governments around the world. However, it is above all a reflection of a growing gap between the contemporary nature of displacement and the institutions that govern forced migration.

In the aftermath of the second world war, governments created the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. It ensures that states have a reciprocal obligation towards people fleeing a well-founded fear of persecution. This framework was well adapted to the refugee movements of the 20th century. It continues to be relevant, but it leaves gaps.

Climate change is one cause that falls outside the existing refugee framework. Sinking islands, desertification and flooding, for instance, can all require people to leave their homes. However, the relationship between environmental change and displacement is complex and multi-causal; shaped by other factors, most notably governance.

As Hurricane Katrina illustrated, in countries with strong governance such as the US, a natural disaster is unlikely to require people to cross borders. It is in countries with weaker governance and limited coping capacity that cross-border movements may take place. This was the case with people leaving Haiti for the Dominican Republic following the earthquake in 2010 and from Somalia to Kenya as a result of famine and drought in the Horn of Africa in 2011, for example.

So far the institutional response remains limited, though there are two embryonic frameworks. First, in December 2010, an earlier round of the UN climate negotiations created the first international legal recognition of the relationship between climate change and migration. However, the framework did not specify how to address the problem of people moving on account of climate change and has not been built upon in subsequent rounds of negotiations.

Second, in October 2015, came a government-led informal process called the Nansen Initiative. This launched a protection agenda, endorsed by 110 countries, though offered no governance framework to support international action.

In Paris, there was little progress. The issue has not been a priority for governments. A draft text proposed "a climate change displacement coordination facility". But this was watered down in the negotiations, leaving only a vague statement about a "task force" to "develop recommendations for integrated approaches to avert, minimise and address displacement related to the adverse impacts of climate change".

Standing back from these institutional discussions, it's debatable whether the climate change negotiations are an adequate venue for addressing the underlying issue. The broader phenomenon is new displacement that falls outside the existing refugee framework but is not reducible to voluntary, economic migration. The huge challenge is how we should respond to the movements of vulnerable people who do not fit the institutional boxes.

With the exception of sinking islands, what drives much supposedly environmental displacement is its interaction with a range of other social, economic and political factors. What's more, if what we care about is ensuring protection for the most vulnerable people, then what matters is not to privilege a particular cause of displacement but to identify a threshold of fundamental rights. When these are unavailable in the country of origin, border crossing has to be guaranteed as a last resort.

This wider challenge of how we think about new drivers of displacement can be found in the European refugee crisis. Nearly all Syrians would meet the 1951 standard of "persecution". However, for many other nationalities the picture is more complex. Most are from refugee-producing countries, but not all would qualify for asylum. Yet this does not mean the residual category can be neatly subsumed under a label of "voluntary, economic migrants". Rather, a significant proportion of those fleeing countries such as Afghanistan or Iraq are fleeing a chronically fragile state, within which they are unable to secure the minimum conditions of human dignity. It is these types of movement for which the international community lacks an adequate conceptual or institutional response.

Part of the solution is about considering how we update and reform the global refugee regime. However, to respond to the 21st-century realities of people moving around the world also requires us to escape traditional silos. Policy responses cannot be found simply through European justice and home affairs policies. The root causes of displacement are inextricable from broader issues of the environment, development and security.

From the climate negotiations to the sustainable development goals to next year's World Humanitarian Summit, human displacement should be an integral and ongoing part of the agenda. Responses to the needs of millions of vulnerable people should not depend not upon box-ticking. Instead, across international processes and branches of government, we need to see the connections and opportunities.
Alexander Betts is director of the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford. He is author of Survival Migration: Failed Governance and the Crisis of Displacement Topics

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Global issues don't live in separate boxes. Why no mention in Paris of refugees? | Alexander Betts

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While the United Nations climate change talks in Paris struggled to elicit credible commitments, notably missing from the debate was "environmental displacement" - people fleeing their homes on account of natural disaster. As temperatures and sea levels rise, and land-use patterns change, there will be significant consequences for human mobility within and across borders.

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The organisation Lodyn are working with the human-nature realtionship trying to an understading of how humans are a part of nature. They think this is an important bit in giving the nature rights and reimagine our whole understanding of how we percevie our sorrounding,

http://www.lodyn.se/english/

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How could technology change the health and exercise industry.

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How could technology change the health and exercise industry.

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With smart appliances, cameras, phones, and even social robots making it into our high-tech world, it seems plausible that we'll also turn to tech solutions to perform exercise for us.

At least that's what a new study published in the journal Endocrinology suggests.

The study conducted on obese mice reports that whole body vibration (WBV) may be as effective as regular exercise when it comes to benefiting muscles and bone health, and combatting some of the negative effects of obesity and diabetes.

During WBV, you sit, stand, or lie on a machine that has a vibrating platform. When the machine vibrates, it transmits energy to the body causing the muscles to contract and relax multiple times during each second.

"The science on WBV is sound. When you vibrate on a platform, the platform causes your muscles to contract almost like you're moving but you're not," Pete McCall, adjunct faculty of exercise science at Mesa College in San Diego, Calif., told Healthline.

For people who are overweight and have difficulty moving, McCall said WBV is a good start. "But like any other form of exercise you're going to have a finite wall. There will be a point where your body adapts to it and another unit of that exercise isn't going to provide your body significant benefits," he added.
Read more: Is playing 'Pokémon Go' really exercise? "
Still a need for movement

No matter how much technology makes its way into fitness, the body still needs to move, said McCall.

Think of your heart and your circulatory system like the engine in a car, he said. If you leave your car in the backyard for 30 years, it's going to fall apart, but if you turn it on a few times a month, it will remain drivable.

"The body is the same way," McCall explained. "You can't just leave your body sitting in the backyard, so to speak. It will deteriorate. Your heart is like the engine, so when you move, your heart pumps blood around the working muscles. By moving, you're making your heart more effective at getting blood, oxygen, and nutrients to your muscles."

Karen Lawson, IEEE senior member and senior director of design technology, agreed, pointing to data tracking technology that is widely used to track miles run, steps taken, calories eaten, and more.

Think Fitbit, Apple Watch, MyFitnessPal, and beyond.

While technology helps to quantify fitness goals and motivate people to refine their workouts and diet, Lawson said moving is essential.

"Being a passive participant will still not result in achieving health-related or physique goals without moving the body. Also, it can be discouraging to see the slow pace of results for someone constantly checking in. It confirms there is still no 'quick fix' to years of sedentary behavior or poor diet," she told Healthline.
Read more: Can cash push people to exercise? "
The future of fitness

If fitness technology isn't going to exercise for us, what will it do? McCall and Lawson see the future of technology making an impact on fitness in several ways.

Fit equals cheaper health insurance
While McCall and Lawson believe the number of wearable fitness trackers and tracking apps will continue to increase, McCall sees them taking on a different role in health.

"These are useful for tracking data, but until health insurance companies start giving you a discount based on how active you are on a daily basis, the data we collect on our activity is irrelevant," he said.

He pointed out that some organizations are starting to give employees extra bonuses, credits, or money toward health insurance premiums if the employee achieves a minimal amount of activity per quarter.

For instance, the insurance provider UnitedHealthcare has teamed up with the technology company Qualcomm to develop trackers.

"It's already happening. I can see it being common that in order to get the best rates from your health provider you'll have to upload your tracker information once a month or quarter to show how much you are exercising," McCall said.

Smart fabrics will get smarter
Over the next decade, Lawson thinks smart fabrics will include sensing capabilities that allow users to augment the monitoring and performance of their activity.

"While such fabrics exist today and are making their way into commercialized products, the cost and durability will only continue to improve and therefore these will be driven into the apparel and accessory market globally," she said.

In-home advancements
Our fast-paced lives will drive in-home fitness technology, including the ability to stream workouts from your home, said McCall.

"Daily Burn does this with Daily 365. You can be in Chicago and do a live class with an instructor in Manhattan. That type of in-home technology will be big," he said.

"The last five years, we had boutique studios like Cross Fit, Orangetheory, and SoulCycle really infringe on traditional health club space, but the next five years, I can see people saying why pay $25 per class at a boutique studio when I can pay that per month for a say, Daily Burn membership and do it at home?"
Read more: Exercise benefits children physically and mentally "
Human interaction trumps technology

With a lot of technology in our lives, McCall believes most people like their exercise as low tech as possible.

"There is kind of saturation point where we just want to go to the gym and work out and forget the downloading and uploading of this and that. It gives us a chance to step away from the screen for an hour or so and maybe connect with friends and those we work out with in the meantime," he said.

Going back to the basics of movement is always a sure thing, he added.

"Let's face it, Cross Fit got huge, but it has you run around the block. They've gone to the basics. Instead of buying an $8,000 treadmill, they have you flipping over 300-pound car tires, or instead of being on an expensive elliptical runner, you're doing jump ropes in your garage," McCall said.

Still, there's no denying people will continue to seek out tech solutions for exercise, noted Lawson.

"But ... the trend of changing how fitness is achieved, having more fun, and developing new behaviors around 'gamification' of exercise is hopefully resulting in more positive results beyond the body image," she said. "The holistic benefit of human movement, e.g., experiencing the beauty of a hike, coupled with the technology support to quantify your improved behaviors promises more sustainable health improvements."

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With smart appliances, cameras, phones, and even social robots making it into our high-tech world, it seems plausible that we'll also turn to tech solutions to perform exercise for us. At least that's what a new study published in the journal Endocrinology suggests.

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5 principles for interdisciplinary partnership

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5 principles for interdisciplinary partnership

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This article puts forth 5 principles interdisciplinary research should be based on, in order to be successful and fruitful.

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Andrew Bertuleit Photography/Corbis

An urgent push to bridge the divide between the biophysical and the social sciences is crucial. It is the only way to drive global sustainable development that delivers social inclusion, environmental sustainability and economic prosperity. Sustainability is the classic 'wicked' problem, characterized by poorly defined requirements, unclear boundaries and contested causes that no single agency or discipline is able to address.

It is crucial to understand, then, why so many well-meaning attempts at interdisciplinary collaboration fail to deliver tangible outcomes - and why others succeed. Here we offer an unapologetically personal answer by reflecting on how, working across multiple faculties of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, we have built a team of disciplinary experts that delivers integrated and sustainable water management across multiple cities.

We have now grown this interdisciplinary team to incorporate other institutions nationally and internationally. At the same time, we acknowledge that substantial transaction costs come with interdisciplinary research - it takes extra time and effort to make it work.

Personal journey

Our journey began in the early 2000s, with two maturing groups working on urban water research: one in the faculty of engineering, focused on sustainable stormwater technologies, and the other in the faculty of arts, focused on urban water governance (see Supplementary Information). The research teams had a common impact agenda, and our collaboration grew from a realization that an interdisciplinary approach would be more effective. In 2005, the two groups joined and secured funding for the establishment of a Aus$4.5-million (US$3.1-million) Facility for Advancing Water Biofiltration that brought together more than 20 Monash researchers and PhD students across civil engineering, ecology and sociology. By 2012, this had culminated in the award of a Aus$120-million Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Water Sensitive Cities. It comprises a partnership of more than 85 organizations, including 13 research institutions, and around 230 researchers and PhD students from more than 20 disciplines and subdisciplines across the social and biophysical sciences and humanities.

Over the past decade, our collaborations have increasingly made a practical difference. We produce regular synthesis documents (see, for example, ref. 5) containing technology information and enabling policy advice, written in an accessible way to facilitate engagement and uptake. These have been heavily used in policy and strategy documents, which speeded up the adoption of our research. For example, stormwater regulations introduced in the state of Victoria in 2006 were underpinned by our research, and other state and local governments in Australia have adopted our recommended performance targets for the management of urban run-off. As a consequence, our stormwater-biofiltration technology has been increasingly adopted in cities across Australia, Singapore, China and Israel. Since 2010, our expanded framework for integrated city-wide water-cycle management has been used by governments (such as those of Australia, Singapore and China) and international organizations (such as the Asian Development Bank) to guide their strategic planning and investment.

In that time, we have had to resolve considerable tension, which hinders meaningful collaboration. The biophysical sciences tend to have well-agreed theories; the social sciences spend much time developing (and often disagreeing on) theoretical questions. Both fields have control and comparison at their core. But biophysical researchers mainly perform quantitative research (often in well-controlled and replicable laboratory conditions), whereas social science can be qualitative or quantitative, and also use interpretative validation approaches.

We witnessed biophysical researchers accusing social scientists of poor rigour and of spending too much time conceptualizing problems without exploring and offering solutions. Conversely, social scientists were often frustrated that biophysical researchers were too focused on solutions, reductively overlooking the wider societal implications of their proposed solutions.

This discord is exacerbated by an inherent cultural hierarchy that often privileges the biophysical over the social sciences. Environmental problems have typically been framed from a biophysical perspective, meaning that social scientists are not effectively engaged in developing integrated solutions.

Five principles

The journey was not for everyone, and we lost some talent along the way. Yet many stayed on. How did we help academics to overcome these biases? We used these five principles.

Forge a shared mission. Driving our collaborative journey was the shared mission of delivering water-management strategies that address the challenges of floods, droughts and degraded waterways. This approach fosters more sustainable, resilient, productive and liveable cities - for a healthy planet and population. The shared mission provided a compelling account of the overall goal of the collaboration, included impact as a necessary outcome, and was sufficiently broad to incorporate meaningful roles for all disciplinary researchers involved.

This mission also maintained a sense of purpose in the face of occasional failure and of the ongoing investment of huge time and effort to appreciate the norms, theories and approaches of other disciplines. When we needed the input of certain disciplines, and hastily included researchers that did not share the mission, it was not a success. The subsequent departure of these researchers from the team initially weakened the skill set of the group, but provided the motivation to expand our collaboration across multiple institutions.

Develop 'T-shaped' researchers. In our experience, interdisciplinary collaborations have the greatest chance of success when researchers are 'T-shaped' - able to cultivate both their own discipline, and to look beyond it. Breadth and depth are key. T-shaped researchers build credibility by aiming for the highest scientific contribution in their field - a point of particular importance for early-career researchers, whose prospects for promotion are judged against research excellence criteria (see principle 5). T-shaped researchers also engage actively with other disciplines (see principle 3) to understand and appreciate their norms, theories, approaches and breakthroughs.

Many believe that interdisciplinary research delays career progression or is the luxury of senior researchers. This has not been our experience: many of our researchers were able to maintain a high publication rate in their own discipline, and - as part of a team - secure increasing interdisciplinary research funding. However, it took nearly five years to start publishing our joint interdisciplinary research in high-impact journals.

Nurture constructive dialogue. Through a decade of trial and error, we have invested heavily in creating the environment and informal rules that empower researchers across all sciences to engage effectively, despite their vastly different approaches to research design and methodology, and their differing technical vocabularies and communication cultures.

This has involved some commitments: to interact in plain English (disciplinary jargon is frowned on); to foster empathy and respect for different disciplinary norms; and to reflect on what is working in collaborative interactions. We designed regular interdisciplinary forums using these rules. This led to the co-development of key publications - for example, through interdisciplinary workshops, we have jointly written three annual reports for policymakers and water practitioners. These activities grew into a sought-after annual short course and a massive open online course (MOOC) showcasing different disciplinary approaches to urban water challenges.

Source: R.R.B., A.D., T.H.F.W.

Reaching the ideal of constructive communication across the sciences takes time and practice - researchers new to the group may not yet have the necessary skills. Typically, they pass through three stages of development (see 'Journey to T'). Initially, new collaborators tend to dominate discussions and assert the primacy of their discipline. Soon after, they recognize the importance of other disciplines and adopt a more passive demeanour. Eventually, the researchers settle into a space of constructive dialogue.

We find that some quit and others stay to become mature collaborators, able to co-create across academic disciplines and broader networks. The role of more experienced collaborators is to support new colleagues' personal journeys into these dynamic relationships.

Give institutional support. Academic career pathways for interdisciplinary research are essential if it is to attract and retain the brightest and best. Monash University's senior leadership team consistently signalled that it values research that is interdisciplinary, attracts significant industry involvement and delivers real-world impact - despite the organizational structures and global academic norms that are biased towards more conventional, disciplinary approaches.

This value was communicated to researchers through university policies, promotion criteria and seed-funding programmes. For example, the engineering faculty has introduced qualitative research standards (alongside the conventional quantitative measures), that attempt to measure the impact of research on practice. The faculties of engineering and arts now award small competitive grants to teams from both faculties to catalyse collaborations.

Monash has established a PhD programme for cohorts of students working on a common global challenge across a number of disciplines; for instance, sustainable urban water management in developing Asian cities. These groups work in a constructive dialogue environment.

Bridge research, policy and practice. Finally, the establishment of enduring connections between researchers, policymakers and industry practitioners proved to be an important driver in growing our interdisciplinary collaborations. Refreshingly, industry rarely thinks in disciplinary silos. They tend to tackle complex problems from a range of perspectives, thereby modelling integrated, solution-focused thinking.

To ensure real-world impact, we engaged policy and industry partners in the design of our research programme and encouraged them to critique our scientific approach and presentation of results. We also ran frequent events that allowed professionals from policy and industry to interact with researchers. For example, in 2008, through a national roadshow, we showcased how our research is addressing crucial water challenges around Australian cities. Aimed at policymakers and industry and community leaders, it stimulated research and partnerships.

Despite our rewarding experience, interdisciplinary research is still on the margins. We urge researchers, institutions, and funding bodies committed to sustainable development to make it mainstream (see 'Ways to promote interdisciplinary research').

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Andrew Bertuleit Photography/Corbis An urgent push to bridge the divide between the biophysical and the social sciences is crucial. It is the only way to drive global sustainable development that delivers social inclusion, environmental sustainability and economic prosperity.

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This paper touches upon the need for newspapers to interconnect topics, e.g. climate and finances to show the interconnection of environmental and other subjects and to transform our perspective on environmental problems.

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Olausson 2011. We're the Ones to Blame.pdf

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http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2158244016635257

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An interesting article on where the blame lies - individuals or oil companies - and if the governing systems we trust in will act to push society away from fossil fuels.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-mark-climate-litigation-20180422-story.html

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Behind the Problem of Conflict Minerals in DR Congo: Governance

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Behind the Problem of Conflict Minerals in DR Congo: Governance

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Who is fooling who?  Is sustainable development achievable in the world of capitalists?  How the American’s companies perpetuate armed conflicts in Democratic Republic of Congo to plunder country’s resources.  Again, the United Nations peace keepers are stealing mineral resources in the Democratic republic of Congo. It is vital to note that all other multinational companies from China and Europe are competiting for resources in countries of availability. I thinks science helps different contents of the said minerals and thereafter, the companies takes over.

By Narice  Ninyesiga

https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/central-africa/democratic-republic-congo/behind-problem-conflict-minerals-dr-congo-governance

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Systemic Change in the Classroom in the US 

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Systemic Change in the Classroom in the US 

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https://www.muncievoice.com/22195/systemic-changes-in-public-education/

"Social change begins in the classroom by learning to respect life, ideas, and differences. When students learn how to use their voice to communicate, enact change and take a part in democracy, they gain the tools to talk to people about the problems they see and are having. Systemic change in our public education system could help shed light on these areas."

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Environmental ethics, social constructivism and deep ecology

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Environmental ethics, social constructivism and deep ecology

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An intriguing article connecting intrinsic environmental values and social constructivism.
The power and the promise of deep ecology is seen, by its supporters and detractors alike, to lie in its claims to speak on behalf of a natural world threatened by human
excesses. Yet, to speak of trees as trees or nature as something worthy of respect in itself has appeared increasingly difficult in the light of social constructivist
accounts of “nature.”

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To speak of trees Social constructivism, environmental values, and the future of deep ecology.pdf

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From Lewis Mumford, definitively worth a read!
He discusses the restrictions that arise from the authoritarian framework:

“The bargain we are being asked to ratify takes the form of a magnificent bribe. Under the democratic-authoritarian social contract, each member of the community may claim every material advantage, every intellectual and emotional stimulus he may desire, in quantities hardly available hitherto even for a restricted minority: food, housing, swift transportation, instantaneous communication, medical care, entertainment, education. But on one condition: that one must not merely ask for nothing that the system does not provide, but likewise agree to take everything offered, duly processed and fabricated, homogenized and equalized, in the precise quantities that the system, rather than the person, requires. Once one opts for the system no further choice remains. In a word, if one surrenders one's life at source, authoritarian technics will give back as much of it as can be mechanically graded, quantitatively multiplied, collectively manipulated and magnified.”

http://www.primitivism.com/mumford.htm

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An alliance of companies have called on the EU to pass new laws cutting truck emissions within two years.

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An alliance of companies have called on the EU to pass new laws cutting truck emissions within two years.

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36 major global brands, transport companies and hauliers associations have told the EU leadern. A mandated 24% cut in CO2 by 2025 in the Commission’s truck CO2 proposal. This is three times more than the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, ACEA have in their plans. http://reducingco2together.eu/

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At 27% of total EU emissions, transport is Europe's biggest climate problem and heavy-duty vehicles account for 26% of road transport CO2. In the letter the companies and associations say they are aware of their responsibilities, but that policymakers also need to create the right framework conditions to help them achieve their targets and truck fuel efficiency standards are one of the most effective ways of doing this.

Unilever's president of Europe, Hanneke Faber, said: "At Unilever we are making sure that our transport and distribution systems are as green as possible. Ambitious emissions standards are crucial to encourage innovation and accelerate the deployment of new zero emissions technologies - good for business, good for citizens and good for the planet."

There should also be an ambitious mandatory sales target for zero emission trucks, the companies and associations said. Transport needs to reduce its emissions to zero by 2050 to meet the targets of the Paris agreement and while the technology for zero emission trucks is there, supply is limited and only available at high costs. Therefore the upcoming proposal on truck fuel efficiency standards - expected to be published on 16 May - should also ensure truck manufacturers sell a minimum share of zero emission trucks.

CEO of transport and logistics group Geodis, Marie-Christine Lombard, said: "Geodis takes its responsibility to contribute to the decarbonisation of transport seriously and is engaged in a number of actions aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, both within Geodis and with its partners and suppliers. We support ambitious European standards that accelerate decarbonisation through innovation and with an approach that is fair to the whole market."

Cleaner trucks officer at sustainable transport NGO Transport & Environment, Stef Cornelis, said: "An unprecedented coalition of global brands, SMEs and truckers is telling the EU they want stringent CO2 standards and strong, mandatory sales targets for zero emissions lorries. President Juncker should seize this opportunity to start decarbonising trucks."

Alongside the companies mentioned above, the signatories also include Alstom, DB Schenker, Philips Lighting and supermarket group Colruyt in addition to a number of other firms. The national transport associations represent truckers in the Netherlands, Spain, Hungary, Portugal and Belgium.[2]
Notes to editors:
[1] "I want Europe to be the leader when it comes to the fight against climate change."

Jean-Claude Juncker, State of the Union speech, 13 September 2017.
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-17-3165_en.htm
[2] The letter is signed by: Carrefour, IKEA*, Unilever, Heineken, Nestle, Geodis, Siemens, Alstom, Dia, Eroski, Philips Lighting, Tchibo, DB Schenker, Colruyt Group, Aslog, Vos Logistics, Meyer & Meyer, Ziegler, Barry Callebaut, Live Nation, Kingfisher, Bartkowiak, Bode Transport & Logistik, BYD, Große Vehne, Polarbröd, Smart Freight Centre, NLV Klub, Cervera, Max Burgers, Febetra, Hermes, TLN, MKFE, Antram, and Astic.

* Inter IKEA Group (all companies ultimately owned by Inter IKEA Holding B.V.) and INGKA Group (all companies ultimately owned by INGKA Holding B.V.)
Read more: Letter to President Juncker from 36 global brands, transport companies and hauliers associations

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IKEA, Unilever, Carrefour and Nestlé among companies, logistics groups and hauliers asking Juncker to target 24% cut in truck CO2

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At 27% of total EU emissions, transport is Europe's biggest climate problem and heavy-duty vehicles account for 26% of road transport CO2. In the letter the companies and associations say they are aware of their responsibilities, but that policymakers also need to create the right framework conditions to help them achieve their targets and truck fuel efficiency standards are one of the most effective ways of doing this.

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Sustainability leadership requires a combination of masculine and feminine values

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Sustainability leadership requires a combination of masculine and feminine values

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https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/women-sustainable-business-csr-leaders

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An article form Stockholm Environment Institute on how storytelling can be used as a science communication tool. The argument is that stories resonate with people, and that the tool can be used to make science stick and also engage people – as people tend to like stories. The idea is essentially to combine researchers with professional storytellers/communicators. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/make-science-sticky-storytelling-science-communication-tool/

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Someone commented on this article saying "Everyone says they love interdisciplinary research, but when it comes to getting jobs (especially permanent jobs), truly interdisciplinary researchers get penalised, because they don't really fit anywhere."

https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/feb/19/interdisciplinary-research-universities-academic-careers

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Why you think an ethical framework can, and cannot, help in addressing work-based issues

https://archive.cilip.org.uk/news/why-you-think-ethical-framework-can-cannot-help-addressing-work-based-issues

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This author of this report, Prof Mariana Mazzucato suggests that the use of "missions" (such as the Apollo program) can be used as a tool to lead cross-sectorial development in a sustainable direction.

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(Mentioned in my other Padlet also) https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/pushing-stem-subjects-leaves-graduates-jobless-says-commission/news-story/d2c6d8aedd0769449a2f63881bb562cb

Pushing STEM education leaves graduates jobless. In Australia 20 per cent of people with bachelor degrees in natural and physical sciences are left unemployed.

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UN works to align sustainability and financial markets

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UN works to align sustainability and financial markets

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This is a UN press release reporting "The final report of the UN Environment Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System." The piece serves as an example of Robert's FSSD mentioned in both readings.

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Growing financial sector reform starts to deliver private finance for sustainability

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Washington D.C., 17 April 2018 - Huge progress on reforming the global financial system over the last four years has started to deliver desperately needed financing for sustainability and set up the next wave of action, according to a new United Nations report released today.

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The importance of ethical frameworks in research on SD and EE

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The importance of ethical frameworks in research on SD and EE

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This article highlights why ethical frameworks are important and relevant tools when researching sustainability issues and for teaching environmental education. It is an interesting article as it provides for frameworks which can be applied easily, while ethics are often referred to as vague and not-suitable for science.

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An environmental ethical conceptual framework for research on sustainability and environmental education.pdf

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The Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) is an international nonprofit Think and Do tank that works with businesses, policy makers, partner organisations and civil society towards a sustainable planet

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The Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) is an international nonprofit Think and Do tank that works with businesses, policy makers, partner organisations and civil society towards a sustainable planet

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http://www.sustain-entrepreneurship.org/

https://www.scp-centre.org/

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23 min read

This story appears in the April 2018 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe "

When Hurricane Maria raked across Puerto Rico last September with wind speeds of up to 155 miles per hour, it left a path of unprecedented destruction. The storm flattened houses and forests, flooded towns and made hundreds of thousands of people homeless. It knocked out most of the island's power grid, leaving nearly all 3.7 million residents in the dark, and severed 95 percent of cell networks as well as 85 percent of aboveground phone and internet cables. Eighty percent of the island's crops were decimated.
Related: Is Your Business Ready for the Next Devastating Natural Disaster?
Once the hurricane moved on, an all-too-common aftermath unfolded. Local emergency responders became overwhelmed. There was, memorably, public fighting among political officials -- San Juan's mayor versus President Trump. Relief agencies and volunteers flooded in. People who wanted to help could find long lists of organizations to donate to, though, as is typical after a disaster, it wasn't clear where the money was best spent. Dollars often flowed indiscriminately.

Ten days after the hurricane, a different kind of responder arrived on the island. His name was Jesse Levin, a 32-year-old serial entrepreneur with close-cropped hair and aviators, and the co-founder of a series of rock-climbing gyms called Brooklyn Boulders. He had no military background, though he had volunteered in past disaster zones and spoke the language of relief -- casually discussing "air assets" and "force multipliers." Before he arrived he'd made plans to help, help that didn't necessarily involve the cluster of government agencies and NGOs that were scrambling to advance their operations. "It was mind-boggling," he recalls now. "There was just completely ineffective communication going on."

A rented jeep was waiting for him.

Once in Puerto Rico, Levin spent several days crisscrossing the island's debris-strewn roads, talking to residents, business owners, mayors and policemen. He rarely came across an aid worker or a utility truck. In the media, he'd kept hearing that people were desperate for food and water. But in village after village, Levin encountered grocery stores open and stocked with enough provisions to sustain the local communities. Enterprising merchants had even rustled up generators to keep on the lights. But many customers couldn't buy anything: Around 40 percent of Puerto Rico's population depends on food stamps, which require Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to make purchases. With the island's telecommunications network down, the cards couldn't be processed. This particular problem didn't require an intensive governmental effort to distribute food and water. It was just a connectivity issue that nobody else was solving.

So Levin coordinated with Steve Birnbaum, a satellite communications expert he works with, who had arrived on the island a week before the hurricane to prep for the storm's aftermath. Their plan: to personally buy a bunch of small satellite terminals from Focused Mission, an emergency response business on the island. Levin then worked some local government contacts until he wrangled a helicopter. Among them was Puerto Rico's chief information officer, Luis Arocho, who came along for a beta test to see if their plan would succeed. Soon this small team was airborne and installing terminals on two grocery store rooftops. They flipped the switches and boom -- EBT purchases now worked. Levin would go on to install 12 more.

The experience was validating. "If the economy is broken in a place, the location can't heal," Levin says. But now, functioning EBT machines can lead to more products sold, more employees paid and more shelves restocked -- an economic system revived, and saved from further dependence on FEMA aid. He says the hard costs totaled $33,000, which was ultimately reimbursed by the Foundation for Puerto Rico, and that around $3 million in transactions have since passed through the satellite terminals.

But it was legitimizing on a far larger level as well. Levin isn't here in Puerto Rico simply to do one-off projects like this. He's here to advance a concept -- an audacious idea that he calls "expeditionary entrepreneurship." In essence, it's disaster relief in the form of entrepreneurship. Governments and NGOs are important, he says, with their standard operating procedures and approaches to administering aid. But entrepreneurship -- not profiteering, but the principles of entrepreneurship -- can accomplish what those bodies cannot: quick and nimble responses to ground-level problems, and connective tissue between foreign aid resources and capable local actors like grocery store merchants who are often not engaged. The same instincts that help an entrepreneur build a business, in other words, can help them rebuild a region from catastrophe.

Levin explains this to me as we drive past toppled power lines and landslide debris in Puerto Rico's lush interior mountains. It is mid-January, four months after the storm has passed. "An entrepreneur looks at systems and comes up with creative fixes," he says. "We start from the bottom up."

Image Credit: Andy Isaacson

Levin didn't just dream up "expeditionary entrepreneurship" one day. Instead, he came to it after pursuing two parallel paths: He was an adventurer, and an entrepreneur.
Related: 5 Ways to Prepare Your Business for Natural Disasters, Catastrophes and Income Loss
He's always had an entrepreneur's sensibility -- that ability to sniff out an opportunity and boldly claim it. As a middle schooler in Connecticut, he launched a guerrilla marketing company called Jesse Levin's Adrenaline Marketing. (Slogan: "With all due respect, you need a kid.") He talked the beverage company SoBe into paying him $15,000 and helped promote them at extreme sports events by dyeing his, his friends' and even his dog's hair the brand's hue of green.

During summers, meanwhile, he also attended wilderness survival classes, learning how to build shelters and track animals through the woods. He became captivated by the power of resourcefulness -- how solutions exist all around us. "Survival school informed every facet of my life," Levin says. "My relationships, how I see things, how I conduct my business."

After graduating from Babson College in 2007, those two passions continued apace. He moved to Panama, got into real estate, eventually bought a farm, and then launched a consulting firm. A Dutch company hired him to do project management and cultural mediation work in a remote coastal area where it had acquired land. The area -- a haven for narcotraffickers and local mafia -- was prone to flooding, and Levin inadvertently became the go-between for the special maritime police and the Red Cross to deliver medical care and supplies to his local community. The experience got him interested in disaster relief, so he followed the typical path: He volunteered. Following the historic earthquake in Haiti in 2010, he joined the NGO Hope for Haiti and spent six months crawling around the rubble. After the 2013 typhoon in the Philippines, he split his time between Manila and a town named Tacloban, where he worked alongside Team Rubicon, a relief organization made up of veterans.

Amid these overseas excursions, he was also pursuing traditional entrepreneurship. He became co-founder of Brooklyn Boulders, a New York climbing gym that was expanding into new cities. The first location was just outside Boston, and Levin's goal was to draw people to the space. He realized that the same principles he'd learned in Haiti and the Philippines -- drop in with no agenda, assemble a capable operational team and work closely with locals to find culturally relevant solutions -- could work here as well. "We found the bike builders, the finger painters, the VCs and the nonprofits, and as we built, we said, 'Here's our philosophy: How can you leverage this space to amplify what's going on here locally?' " Soon the place became a hybrid gym/community center/co-working space, hosting drone races, TEDx events and nude drawing classes, with MIT engineering students mingling with graffiti artists. Levin would replicate the concept in Chicago, and sell most of his stake in 2016.

Throughout this period, starting in 2010, he also launched and ran a company called Tactivate, which pitches itself as a project manager inspired by the strategies and tenets of Special Operations. Through his disaster work, Levin had befriended many Air Force pararescuemen and Army Ranger types. He found them to be inherently entrepreneurial, but their resourcefulness, wide-ranging capabilities and "operational mentality" often went unappreciated in the civilian world. Tactivate could bridge that divide, he reasoned, by combining military veterans with what its website describes as "installation artists, hospitality gurus, bootstrap entrepreneurs, branders" and more, for whatever project needs doing.

That's turned out to include running events, art installations and a "pop-up outdoor survival training bar" in Miami. His parallel life pursuits had begun to bleed together, each informing the other. In entrepreneurship, he was channeling disaster relief -- the idea of moving quickly, identifying needs and bringing people together. In disaster relief, he'd been applying entrepreneurship -- dropping into post-disaster environments and creatively supporting local capacity.

Along the way, Levin had assembled a vast Rolodex of relief operatives, from medics, communications specialists and private pilots to people involved in emergency logistics and air freight transport. "We all just kind of team up and see how we can fix things," he says. "We're fixers." By last year, he'd come up with the phrase "expeditionary entrepreneurship" as a way to formalize his approach to disaster relief. Now he wouldn't just be freelancing his way through regions; he'd be enacting a named strategy, which he could communicate to others.

On September 20, this new phrase had its first test case: Hurricane Maria hit.

Image Credit: Andy Isaacson

"Cómo estás, señor!" Levin says, as he bro-hugs the guard at the security desk.

" Todo bien, caballero," replies the guard chummily.

We're breezing into La Fortaleza, the bright-blue governor's palace in San Juan's colonial quarter, as if Levin didn't just land in Puerto Rico for the first time three months earlier. We head across the lobby's marble floor and up the stairs to the corner office of PRITS, or the Puerto Rican Innovation and Technology Services. It's a newly formed unit headed by two former executives -- Luis Arocho, the island's chief information officer, and Glorimar Ripoll, its chief innovation officer -- and tasked with introducing data science and technology into Puerto Rico's bloated bureaucracy. It's also become something of a home base for Levin, a place receptive to his particular brand of entrepreneurship.

As we approach, we find the office in a flurry of redecoration. A black love seat, armchairs and gold side tables form a new reception area by the door. We stand and watch long slab tables crafted from trees felled by Maria -- and a large wooden PRITS sign emblazoned with the Puerto Rican flag -- being hoisted into an open window by a cherry picker. A giant, flashy canvas donated by a famed local artist, painted with the words La Gran Fiesta, is carried in and then promptly taken away: too much. Levin smiles.

In his vision, everything is scalable -- every relationship, every idea. You start with one thing and build off it. It's not always easy to draw a straight line from one to the next, but what's happening in this office, at least, offers a useful pathway of how Levin's philosophy unfolds.
Related: 5 Steps for Managing Disaster Recovery for Your Business
It started with that project to install satellite terminals. Originally, Levin had asked Arocho, the chief information officer, for help. "I thought, This is great, but knowing government, it probably won't happen as fast as we need it," Arocho recalls. It had taken six weeks to request and launch Google's balloon-powered Project Loon internet service on the island. But when Levin and his team produced the technology in less than a week, Arocho was impressed. "At that moment, I knew these guys were for real," he says. "They're forward thinkers. They offer a different approach -- that entrepreneurial mindset -- to dealing with government problems."

Now Levin had a useful new relationship. Arocho became willing to provide, as he calls it, "top cover" for his efforts -- signing forms when necessary, opening doors. And meanwhile, Levin was repeating this process with other key players around Puerto Rico. He'd befriended the heads of the Foundation for Puerto Rico, as well as key officials from FEMA, the military and the Department of Homeland Security. Leveraging his network, Levin often just connected dots. A cutting-edge, solar-powered water-purification system was installed at a Boys & Girls Club in the town of Loíza because of an introduction Levin made between MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and the Roddenberry Foundation. He introduced Global DIRT, a disaster response team, to a local organization in St. John requiring assistance, leading to a major response and connectivity operation benefiting the U.S. Virgin Islands. "This connection was immensely valuable," Devin Welch, a solar-power-business owner, told me.

Direct relationships and one-off operations can only scale so much, Levin knew. What he needed was to re-create what he had with Brooklyn Boulders -- that gathering point where infinite other relationships could thrive and people could find new ways of helping the island. "Whether in business or disaster response, informal relationships are how everything gets done," he says. So, not long after arriving in Puerto Rico, Levin took over a six-bedroom house near the beach in San Juan that he found on Airbnb. At $275 per night, it came with a bar and an outdoor pool yet cost the same as a room at the nearby Hyatt. Then he invited everyone he'd met for regular Thursday happy hours (but also almost any time), offering a retreat where exhausted relief workers could decompress over cheese, crackers and bottles of Medalla Light, and even crash in a bedroom if necessary. Here, he believed, the silos of NGOs and government and military could break down.

Arocho became a regular. So did senior officials from the U.S. military and FEMA, Puerto Rican bureaucrats and businesspeople and private-sector technology specialists. Smart, young Puerto Rican doers arrived and began working out collaborations with PRITS. A filmmaker hired by AARP showed up and found people to help her document Maria's impact on the elderly. Members of relief organizations swapped insights, and found partners for their work ahead. "We were better prepared for what was to come during our time there by hearing real stories of what was occurring and needed," says Tamara Robertson of Engineers Without Borders.

The house created new relationships, but it also continued to strengthen Levin's existing ones. And that's how, last January, Levin came to suggest that Arocho redesign the government office. If PRITS is to be an emblem of collaboration and make Puerto Rico attractive to innovators, he argued, the space ought to look the part. Arocho agreed; the office was originally nothing more than a drab, government-issue space. So Levin found a sponsor to put up $15,000, linked in a California-based furniture designer named Marcus Kirkwood and enlisted Levin's twin sister, Sefra Alexandra, who had also come to Puerto Rico after the hurricane and built seed banks in 26 schools across the island.

Now, on this day in January, we're watching the fruits of collaboration and relationships. The new tables are being arranged. Sefra is decorating the room with tropical plants. Arocho stands by Levin and looks on happily, snapping pictures.

Image Credit: Andy Isaacson

Much of the attention on Puerto Rico's hurricane response has focused on government's colossal failures: FEMA's sluggish response. The island's struggle to get a handle on the situation. Corrupt utilities and local mayors. Mismanagement and dysfunction. Wastewater systems and an electrical grid left vulnerable after years of neglect.

But there's another story: how Puerto Rico's citizens took care of themselves. Neighbors banded together. They shared food, fuel and shelters, driving their own hyperlocal response efforts. Levin talks about Alberto Delacruz, a Coca-Cola distributor he met who mustered 2,000 generators, loaded them on his fleet of trucks and delivered them to stores, clinics, salons and restaurants across the island. "Yes, he wanted his clients back in business," Levin says. "But he solved a problem." Necessity also inspired D.I.Y. solutions. I heard about residents powering homespun washing machines with battery-operated drills that they charged with solar panels; about electrifying their homes with car batteries. Local businesspeople began talking of themselves not just as merchants or salespeople but as sources of solutions -- as linchpins of their communities.

This is, it turns out, a regular though less reported part of the disaster-recovery cycle. "History has shown that the disruption of existing traditions, policies and structures can create a climate of innovation and entrepreneurship," reports a 2017 study in the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. The research was put together by two DePaul University professors who surveyed decades of reports on how entrepreneurship rises in areas that fall victim to disaster. Their conclusions: Perceptions of entrepreneurship always improve as local people, with their deep knowledge of their community's needs, become effective in ways that large institutions like government can't. And local entrepreneurs themselves go through a transformation, shedding anxieties that might have held them back before. "Necessities of the individual and his community override increases in fear of failure," the DePaul writers report. From this, new solutions are created and new businesses are born.

(This phenomenon extends to Levin himself: The co-directors of the University of Delaware's Disaster Research Center tell me that, after disasters, independent people often step in to do what he does -- help forge connections. They just don't typically think of themselves as entrepreneurs.)
Related: Volunteer to Help Those in Need - and Become a Better Entrepreneur
However, something is happening in Puerto Rico that the DePaul writers hadn't chronicled elsewhere. Entrepreneurs from outside Puerto Rico are arriving with vigor. Within days of the storm, scores of technology companies in particular have made landfall, ranging from large entities like NetHope and Tesla, which is launching new battery projects on the island, to smaller makers of passive water collection and purification systems and "mobile ad hoc" wi-fi networks. Many see the island as a test bed for their new technologies. Wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneurs have arrived en masse, eyeing Puerto Rico's generous tax incentives, broken systems and humbled government as an exciting set of challenges. "It's turned out to be this really amazing opportunity to put to work block-chain technology," Reeve Collins, cofounder of the company BlockV, told me.

Levin watched this happen on the island, and two months after the hurricane, he felt it was time to move on to a new phase of his expeditionary entrepreneurship project -- away from disaster relief, and toward disaster preparedness. (Hurricane season begins in June.) He'd now play superconnector for this new community on the island, locals and newcomers alike, whose products and services could help Puerto Rico in the long run.

By this point, Levin had stopped renting his communal Airbnb; the aid workers who frequented the house had largely left. Now he makes connections on the fly. "I go into an area and try to identify who's who. And I try to empower them and connect them around a goal," he says. Over the course of my three days with him in January, this is almost entirely what I witness Levin doing. He meets with property developers and investors and lawyers and local foundations and youth activists and surfers and (of course) cryptocurrency entrepreneurs. We stopped in at a tech accelerator one morning to meet re:3D, a startup experimenting with an industrial 3-D printer to fabricate storm-ravaged stuff like furniture and coral. We had lunch with Milton Soto, an influential bartender who is rehabilitating an elementary school after the hurricane, before stopping by Aqui Se Puede, a watering hole whose owner and resident carpenter once worked for Andy Warhol. For Levin, these encounters are mostly soft touches -- rapport building, part of his overarching effort to piece together a network of "local capacity" in the event of another disaster.

One morning, I join Levin for a 7:45 a.m. workout on the beach with Carlos Guardiola, a well-connected Puerto Rican entrepreneur who owns one of the island's largest warehousing businesses as well as medical cannabis licenses; Rafael Ortiz, who is in private equity; and Ben Manning, a former Navy SEAL fresh out of eight years in the service, whom Levin had taken on as something of an apprentice. (Each night before bed, Levin and Manning "debriefed" about the day's meetings and exchanged the lessons learned.)

After burpees and sprints, we sit down for breakfast at a beachfront inn.

Guardiola describes his role as an unofficial connector. "I have a very simple rule: I don't do business with anybody unless I eat with them seven times," he tells Levin. "I like to see how you treat the waiter. I like to see who you know around. I like to see how you react. Because everybody's a great first date." Since 1996, he's frequently hosted invite-only salons that bring together venture capitalists, housewives, street artists -- an intentionally diverse mix -- and after the hurricane, that made him a natural contact point for many people on the island. Not unlike Levin, Guardiola began making connections that helped the disaster recovery along. In one case, he connected GivePower, a major clean-energy nonprofit, to local partners to install water desalination and purification systems.

"And that's how real recovery happens," Levin says. "It's understanding the landscape, and making very unconventional, strategic relationships of human capital, and understanding the capacity of respective operating groups, and putting them together."

"It basically comes down to what we're doing here -- it's breaking bread," Guardiola replies. "I'm not in the business of employing people, because I think that's what kills Puerto Rico. That whole mindset of I want to get my sure thing. There is no such thing as a sure thing! And that's why this is really the perfect storm. You know everybody was thinking, Oh, the United States, they got our back. Bullshit! Oh, we're going to get money from FEMA. Bullshit!"

If Puerto Rico has a savior, they agree, it will be the entrepreneurs on the island -- both the ones born here and the ones flocking in. This is the lesson they took from Hurricane Maria. "Once you realize that no one is here to save you," Guardiola continues, "that is the most empowering thing, or the most frightening thing. And whoever is frightened should get on a plane and go to Orlando. Get the fuck out of the way."

Image Credit: Andy Isaacson

One day, before a meeting with a lawyer from a prominent Puerto Rican real estate family, Levin takes me to the ruins of the former Naval Reserve Officers Beach Club. It's perched over the sea, above a popular surf spot and in the shadow of an old Spanish fort, but it's an absolute mess: small buildings stripped down to the concrete and covered in graffiti, hunks of wood scattered like discarded toys. The site belongs to the city of San Juan, but he's actively courting the city government and pitching investors to turn it over to him.
Related: 8 Ways to Use Emotional Intelligence and Make Lasting Connections
Here, Levin says, is where he can have a truly lasting impact.

"I'm proud of our ability to drop in and be operational, but really, at the end of the day I'm just another guy going out and fixing a radio, or clearing search and rescue," he says.

That's why he wants this permanent space -- a place to once more repeat what he learned at Brooklyn Boulders. When he'd bring the climbing gym to a new city, Levin would start by inviting a diverse group of locals -- from investors to artists -- into the space as they were building it. He called the gatherings "hard hat dinners," and the goal was to get influential constituencies in the community to meet each other and have a say in what became of the space. That way, when it opened, they'd already feel like it was theirs.

This is what's missing in Puerto Rico right now, he believes. The worst has passed. Electricity is slowly returning. But what about the next Maria? All of this entrepreneurial energy -- the resurgent locals and the innovators coming with their cutting-edge resiliency technologies -- needs a central place to organize around disaster preparedness and recovery. The way Levin envisions it, this could become an open-air market: a hybrid pop-up space where military veterans teach preparedness skills to patrons amid food trucks, live entertainment and off-grid-technology exhibits. He'd been involved in a project like that in Miami -- minus the disaster element, of course -- and thinks it can work here, too.

Recently, Levin signed a one-year lease on an apartment in San Juan. He's racked up a hefty credit card bill during his time here, but he's determined to bring his new concept to life and recoup his costs in the process. "Puerto Rico is a phenomenal place to demonstrate this concept of community self-sufficiency," he says. And if it's successful, he wants to replicate the idea back in the continental U.S. -- and prepare us all for whatever is to come.

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How Entrepreneurship Is Helping to Save Puerto Rico

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23 min read This story appears in the April 2018 issue of Entrepreneur . Subscribe " When Hurricane Maria raked across Puerto Rico last September with wind speeds of up to 155 miles per hour, it left a path of unprecedented destruction. The storm flattened houses and forests, flooded towns and made hundreds of thousands of people homeless.