Science Matters: Leading Thinkers Call for Fossil Fuel Halt

— SCIENCE MATTERS —

Leading Thinkers Call for Fossil Fuel Halt

Article by David Suzuki

In 1970, to make the world safer from humanity’s worst self-destructive impulses, most nations joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. (Only India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and South Sudan are not signatories.)

Now the world faces a threat as great as or greater than nuclear weapons: global warming. That’s led to calls for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Recently, 101 Nobel laureates—in peace, literature, medicine, physics, chemistry, and economic sciences, including the Dalai Lama—signed a letter to world leaders endorsing the proposal.

“Climate change is threatening hundreds of millions of lives and livelihoods across every continent and is putting thousands of species at risk,” they write.

The letter points out that burning coal, oil, and gas is responsible for 80 percent of carbon dioxide emissions since the Industrial Revolution and that “pollution, environmental, and health costs associated with extracting, refining, transporting, and burning fossil fuels… are often paid by Indigenous peoples and marginalized communities.”

It also notes that the Paris Agreement doesn’t mention oil, gas, or coal and that the industry—funded by major banks—continues to expand. By 2030, 120 percent more of these fuels will be produced than is consistent with meeting the agreement’s aspirational goal of keeping global average temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees C above preindustrial levels.

As the laureates write, “The solution is clear: fossil fuels must be kept in the ground.”

The letter calls for ending coal, oil, and gas development expansion; phasing out existing production in a “fair and equitable” manner; and investing in a transitional plan to “ensure 100 percent access to renewable energy globally, support dependent economies to diversify away from fossil fuels, and enable people and communities across the globe to flourish through a global just transition.”

This isn’t the first time leading thinkers have joined to urge humanity to resolve environmental problems. In 1992 and again in 2017, top scientists issued “warnings to humanity.”

The first, signed by 1,700 scientists, including most science Nobel laureates, warned, “Our massive tampering with the world’s interdependent web of life— coupled with the environmental damage inflicted by deforestation, species loss, and climate change—could trigger widespread adverse effects, including unpredictable collapses of critical biological systems whose interactions and dynamics we only imperfectly understand.”

It called for action in areas including, “ozone depletion, freshwater availability, marine life depletion, ocean dead zones, forest loss, biodiversity destruction, climate change, and continued human population growth.”

Twenty-five years later, more than 15,000 scientists issued a second warning, noting, “with the exception of stabilizing the stratospheric ozone layer, humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges, and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse.” That warning pointed to the increasing threat of climate disruption from fossil fuel burning, deforestation, and agricultural production and to the growing mass extinction crisis.

When will we heed these voices of reason? When will we stop listening to those who have been telling us for decades that “we can’t stop using fossil fuels overnight” as they ramp up production and make no attempts to stop at all? Why do politicians continue to talk about their climate commitments while buying and supporting fossil fuel pipelines and other infrastructure, and expanding production of fracked gas and oilsands bitumen?

We talk about the urgency of the climate and biodiversity crises, but we act as if we have all the time in the world to address them.

The COVID-19 pandemic threw the world into a crisis with immediate impacts on everyone, but it also taught us important lessons and gives us an opportunity to change. It’s shown that we can resolve crises and develop solutions rapidly if we come together and spare no expense. It’s shown that prioritizing the human-created economy over human and planetary health has dire consequences and only prolongs the crisis.

The world has paused to deal with a critical health emergency—also rooted in environmental degradation. It’s a chance to reset and to start governing our lives in ways that won’t lead to possibly deadlier pandemics, to a planet heated beyond its ability to support healthy life, or to continued mass extinction.

We must devote everything to resolving these interrelated crises. We’ve been warned. -GG

DAVID SUZUKI is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and cofounder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation senior editor, Ian Hanington. Learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org

Blue Mindfulness Healing for Mexican Sea Turtles

Article by Stephanie J. Rousso

Anew scientific discipline engages the intersection of our brain with our only one Mother Ocean. Neuro-conservation is an emerging field, proposed and led by Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, the author of Bluemind. Nichols scientifically explains how water heals us and empowers our creativity, happiness, and compassion for life. Dr. Nichols also founded Grupo Tortuguero de Las Californias (GTC), a non-profit sea turtle network in Northwest Mexico.

Nichols’ work inspired my current PhD research that feeds into my new business venture: Blue Turtle Sustainable. My research aims to continue the legacy Nichols started by working with remote artisanal fishing communities to protect sea turtles. Native and indigenous fishers from the Mexican state of Sinaloa help me collect data on sea turtle bycatch. ‘Bycatch’ is the term used when species other than the target are accidentally captured in fishing gear.

Due to the growing issue of unregulated bycatch, five species of sea turtles in the eastern Pacific are considered endangered in Mexico and either vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered internationally. The main reason being entanglement in fishing gear, hooks, ropes, and nets. Estimates suggest that over 60 percent of seafood imports into the US and Canada originate from Pacific Mexico. If you watched SeaSpiracy, you know the doomed outlook on our ocean. Yet, it is not the entire story. Many small coastal communities, like the ones I am privileged to collaborate with, are taking initiatives to heal our only one Mother Ocean.

Before bycatch became an issue, many of the fishermen I work with were former sea turtle poachers. Yet, the GTC program opportunities have changed them from poacher to protector. My PhD research and business take a novel and innovative approach: to empower coastal communities in ocean conservation with alternative economic opportunities through responsible travel and seafood. We can still eat delicious seafood, (including vegan option seaweeds) packed with omega 3, while supporting coastal communities who are making a positive difference.

My PhD research aims to study the bycatch data collected by fishers, create maps of “hotspots” (high density interactions between sea turtles and fishing gear), and identify refuges for sea turtles. In these turtle refuges, fishers will self-monitor and employ best fishing practices by using circle hooks, traditional fishing nets, and reduced soak times, all of which reduce bycatch. To offset an economic loss, we are creating a specialty seafood market with premium prices and educational materials to consumers. We are even working with fishers and chefs to sustainably harvest edible seaweeds and create delicious omega 3 packed vegan/vegetarian products. Taking the neuro-conservation approach, we want people to feel good about their seafood choices knowing that their purchase is supporting ocean stewardship, seafood transparency, and proving new opportunities for ocean sustainability for the next generation.

We are rolling out our Pachamama Seafood Market in La Paz, Mexico, a fabulous nature travel destination. With every purchase, we include information about our research and the ocean stewardship of the Indigenous and artisanal fishing communities. We are also promoting travel experiences for conservation tourists and academic groups. The groups participate with fishers as citizen scientists to measure, weigh, photograph, tag, and release the sea turtles. Each sea turtle receives a name, and we send the information as an adoption certificate to each traveller/student.

My passion is ocean mindfulness, which plays with Dr. Nichols’ neuro-conservation principles. Before releasing each sea turtle back into the ocean, I lead a guided meditation for compassionate healing for ourselves, the turtles, the fishers, and the ocean. We are reminded of our oneness, connected through one drop of seawater, and to move forward with awareness for this connection through breath. Afterall, sea turtles are reptiles with lungs living in a marine habitat. Each breath is intentional, so can each of our inhales and exhales be intentional for collective healing with our only one Mother Ocean. -GG

Stephanie J. Rousso, MS, is a marine ecologist, yoga addict, neuroscience junkie, and oceanpreneur. You can follow her progress and support her work by signing up for her newsletter at www.BlueTurtleSustainable. org. She is currently seeking board members and conservation travel and academic groups. If you would like to donate field equipment and supplies to support her research, please contact her team at info@BlueTurtleSustainable.org for a current wish list of gently used or new items. Namaste.

The release of a sea turtle by Adalberto Garcia, a fisher captain from La Reforma. Adalberto works with Stephanie J. Rousso and Blue Turtle Sustainable to help capture bycatch data on sea turtle populations in the region. Photo: Keegan Sentner

Stephanie J. Rousso and a sea turtle in Sinaloa, Mexico. This turtle was captured, tagged, and released to collect data through the Grupo Tortuguero monitoring program. Sea turtles are mindfulness teachers in understanding their adaptability, resilience, and solitude. Photo: Keegan Sentner